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TWENTY. FIRST

ANNUAL REPORT

THE TRUSTEES

PERKINS INSTITUTION

MASSACHUSETTS
ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND,

CORPORATIO N.

CAMBRIDGE:
METCALF AND COMPANY,

PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY.

1853.

REPORT.

■perfcfns Enstftutfon anQ ifclassnclntsctts Ste^lum for tljc UlfnD.

Boston, January 10, 1853.

To the Members of the Corporation.

Gentlemen, — We have the honor to lay before
you the several documents required by law and by
custom at your annual meeting ; the Report of the
Director, the Inventories of all the property, real and
personal, and the Report of the Treasurer.

Our own visits to the Institution enable us to an-
swer for its general satisfactory appearance and con-
dition. The Report of the Director will show that
the teachers and other persons employed have dis-
charged their several duties with fidelity ; and that
the general condition of the School and of the Work
Department has been most satisfactory.

The various inventories show the amount of real
estate, and give an exact numeration of all the arti-
cles of movable property, whether household furni-
ture, books, or apparatus, with a valuation of each.

The Report of the Treasurer, which has been duly
audited by a committee of your board, shows that
there has been a small excess of expenditure over
the income.

We have to acknowledge with gratitude the re-
ceipt of $ 2,000 from the executors of the will of
the late James Ingersoll, Esq. Without occasional
aid of this kind, the small capital of the Institution
would have even now been entirely expended, or else
a great deal of good that has been done would have
been left undone.

There is at this moment great need of more aid
than can be furnished by the ordinary income of the
Institution, for carrying out several projects, which
are of great importance to the blind, not only of our
Institution, but of the whole country. We might
name others, but will confine ourselves to that of a
library in raised characters. There is a great de-
mand for books, by those blind who have learned
to read, and there is no means of supplying the de-
mand. By far the greater part of the books now in
use have been printed at our press ; in fact, the
Boston type, or Dr. Howe's system as it is called,
has superseded the others, and our books are gen-
erally sought for and read. At the Great Exhibi-
tion in London, specimens of various kinds of char-
acters for the blind, and books got up in different
countries, were exhibited, but the committee recog-
nized the superiority of this system, and awarded
the medal to it. Under these circumstances, it is
much to be regretted that our operations have ne-
cessarily been suspended for want of funds ; and we

commend the subject to those who can do more than
give the sympathy and the good wishes which all
yield so readily to the unfortunate blind.
Respectfully submitted.

THOMAS T. BOUVE,
J. T. BUCKINGHAM,
THOMAS G. CARY,
THEOPHILUS P. CHANDLER,
GEORGE B. EMERSON,
ISAAC EMERY,
NATHANIEL H. EMMONS,
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS,
SAMUEL MAY,
CHARLES SUMNER,
GEORGE R. RUSSELL.

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APPENDIX A.

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR TO THE TRUSTEES.

Gentlemen, — Another year in the life of our In-
stitution has passed, and so even has been the tenor
of its way, that, in turning back over the record of
its days, weeks, and months, little is found which
calls for especial notice. The general course has
been both pleasant and prosperous. We must not,
however, fall into an error to which managers of
public institutions, like other persons, are liable, to
wit, that of congratulating themselves upon exemp-
tion from common misfortunes, and looking back
with complacency upon the successful performance
of a certain amount of good, while in reality they
are travelling in a circle, instead of progressing for-
ward and upward. Persons may congratulate them-
selves upon what they have done, forgetful that the
sin of short-coming lies at their door, if they have
failed to do all that was possible for promoting the
cause committed to their keeping. They may forget
that the success which crowns an effort is not mere-
ly a reward, but also a bond for making another
effort. The sum of each year's duties and labors

should not be a thing to rest upon, but a round in
the ladder upon which to mount and fix the next
one still higher up, as a future stand-point to anoth-
er still above that. In the present case, however,
we cannot be wrong in reflecting with gratitude
upon our exemption during the past year from acci-
dents and calamities, an escape from which watchful
and prudent foresight may indeed render probable,
but never make certain. No case of death or of
severe sickness, no serious accident or mishap, has
left its scar upon the memory of the year.

The State of Massachusetts has continued to grant
to the Institution the annual allowance upon which
it relies mainly for support, and without which it
could not exist. Other States, in and out of New
England, have continued to send beneficiaries, and a
few individuals have sent private pupils, the payment
for whom increases the income, and makes it nearly
equal to the expenses. Nearly, but not quite ; for
the interest of the small funded capital belonging to
the Institution, added to all other sources of in-
come, does not make the ordinary receipts equal
the expenses. In former years great expense was
incurred in the purchase, the enlargement, and im-
provement of buildings and grounds; and during
the last year even, it has cost much to repair the
damage done to our premises by the alteration made
by the city in the grade of the streets. During the
whole period of the existence of the Institution, lib-
eral appropriations have been made, not only for car-
rying out our own immediate object, and giving every
facility and advantage for educating the blind of New

England, but also for promoting the good of the
blind everywhere, by devising and improving ap-
paratus for instruction, and by printing and diffus-
ing books in raised characters. In this respect,
certainly, our Institution has done its full part
towards the promotion of the common weal. For
the means of doing these things, in the face of
an annual deficit, reliance has been placed upon
those generous men in our community, whose large
benevolence is the secret spring which keeps the
institutions of beneficence that so abound with-
in our borders in healthy and vigorous operation.
Some of these men, in generous answer to appeals,
and others without any appeal, but guided by the
instinctive perception of want which benevolence im-
parts, have, from time to time, by their liberal dona-
tions, enabled the Institution to extend the sphere of
its usefulness, and to undertake enterprises having in
view the good of the blind generally, which could
not have been undertaken with the ordinary means
at its command. One of these enterprises, and by
far the most important one, — that of printing books
and forming a library, — has been suspended during
the last year from want of funds ; but there is hope
that it will be taken up again and carried on in good
time.

The number of inmates reported in January,
1852, was one hundred and four ; of these twenty-five
have left, while only eighteen new ones have been
admitted, so that the present number is ninety-
seven. For several years past the number has fluc-
tuated between ninety and one hundred and ten.
The aggregate, however, has been kept higher

than it would otherwise have been, by the employ-
ment of adults in the Work Department. Several
who have finished their regular course in the School,
and who would otherwise have ceased all connection
with the Institution, now find employment here.

It may be that we should not have been able rig-
orously to carry out the rule of discharging persons
at the end of five or seven years, or of whatever time
might have been fixed for the course, because in
practice it is found exceedingly difficult to do so.
In most, if not in all institutions for the blind, cases
are continually occurring where the rule of dis-
charge is not carried out. For one reason or an-
other, persons are retained beyond the regular time ;
they linger year after year ; they take root, become
fixtures, and sometimes encumbrances. This is ac-
knowledged to be an evil even now, and it is sure to
become a greater evil by and by.

The establishment of an independent Work De-
partment enables us to obviate this evil. Pupils
can be discharged at the end of their course of in-
struction, five or seven years, as the case may be.
Those who can get a living by work anywhere can
get it here; those who cannot, must be provided
with an asylum, but their place is not in a school for
youth.

The average age of our pupils is now about twelve
years and a half, which is lower, perhaps, than in
any other large institution. The advantage of this
to teachers and pupils, and all concerned, will be
readily understood and appreciated by all who are
familiar with the practical workings of similar estab-
lishments.

The number of admissions to the Junior Depart-
ment has not been so great for several years past as
it ought to have been, and has not kept pace with
the increase of population. No inference, however,
of any worth, respecting the increase or decrease of
blindness in the community, can be drawn from this
circumstance; indeed, it may be satisfactorily ex-
plained by other considerations. The pupils in our
Junior Department are 61 in number; and they
come from the following States : — Massachusetts,
36 ; Rhode Island, 6 ; Vermont, 5 ; Connecticut, 5 ;
Maine, 3 ; New Hampshire, 3 ; South Carolina, 2 ;
New York, 1. Now in all the New England States
provision is made for the education of blind children
at this Institution. The population of Massachusetts
is 995,000, that of the other New England States
1,733,000. Now, as Massachusetts never sends less
than 36 children to our Junior Department, the other
States together should send 61, whereas they only
send 22. This difference doubtless arises mainly
from the fact, that the Institution is best known
nearest home, and partly from the fact, that the
difficulty and expense of access to it increase with
the distance. This natural explanation seems the
more certain, because at all times, even leaving out
of the account the city of Boston, we have had more
pupils from the eastern counties of our State, in
proportion to the population, than from the western.
This disproportion, however, is decreasing with the
increase of facilities of communication.

It would be indeed pleasant to note any indica-
tions that the infirmity of blindness is becoming
less common, but as yet none are apparent. There

is reason, however, for hope that it will diminish.
The first step towards lessening the prevalence of
blindness, or of any other infirmity, in any com-
munity, is to create conviction in the minds of the
members thereof that such infirmity may be lessened,
and finally eradicated, by some means within human
control. Now a close study of the natural laws of
the human organization establishes such a conviction
in regard to blindness, and it cannot fail to become a
general one among intelligent people.

It is morally certain, that most cases of congenital
blindness follow as consequences of departure from
a normal and healthy condition on the part of the
parents or some progenitor of the sufferers. It is
equally certain, that a large proportion of those who
become blind in early life are made so because the
original organization of their apparatus of vision
was imperfect or feeble. Their organs of sight were
too scantily endowed with enduring vital force, to
withstand those ordinary ills and accidents which
make little impression on other persons. It is al-
most as much by accident that they retain vision
any number of years, as that they finally lose it.

Now in all such cases the parents or progenitors
must have offended against the laws of nature in
some way or other ; and though it may have been
without intent or knowledge, the consequences are
none the less sure to follow ; — their offspring are
physically blind, because they were intellectually or
morally blind.

Since blindness, then, for the most part, follows
as the natural consequence of certain physical con-
ditions, which conditions can be ascertained and

avoided, it should not be considered as an infirm-
ity necessarily entailed upon the human race, but
one of which cases may be multiplied or lessened
at will. They may and probably will be lessened, as
more and more people study nature, and learn that
real religion requires implicit obedience to every
law of God, in whatever way and at whatever period
of time the law may be revealed, and whether it re-
gards our hearts and feelings, or our temple of the
body and its conditions.

Now it seems that part of the proper business of
institutions for the blind is to make special study of
the causes of the infirmity of blindness, and to diffuse
knowledge concerning them as widely as possible
in the community. Accordingly, considerable pains
has been taken here to make careful and minute
observations of as many cases as possible, and to as-
certain all the attendant facts and conditions con-
cerning the physical state of the sufferers and their
progenitors, that may by any possibility furnish a
clew to the causes of the infirmity. If similar ob-
servations and researches are made with care in other
institutions, great good may follow. "When the
range of observation has become wide enough, and
the number of facts sufficiently large, valuable infer-
ences will doubtless be drawn. Meantime, all that
has hitherto been ascertained tends to prove what
faith in Divine wisdom would lead one to infer, that
it is possible for man greatly to limit the prevalence
of blindness in any highly civilized community, if not
entirely to prevent its occurrence, except in cases of
severe accidental injury.

THE SCHOOL.

This has been conducted upon the same general
plan as in former years. The course of intellectual
instruction does not differ from that given in the
best common schools of the State, except, perhaps,
that the scholars advance further in certain branches,
and that music is one of the most important of
them. Besides, in addition to a course of intellect-
ual instruction, there is daily exercise in manual
labor, with a view to learning a trade.

The instruction in the school is given by young
women. Our experience shows that they are as
competent to impart instruction in all the common
branches of study, and to train the intellect of their
pupils, as men are, and that, moreover, they develop
the moral sentiment and affections far better.

It is true, that order and discipline are easily main-
tained in schools for the blind, and the attention of
the scholars and their interest in their studies are
easily secured. This, however, is not owing alto-
gether to any peculiarity resulting from their infirm-
ity. There is much more disposition to fun and frolic
in blind children than would be supposed, and if
this disposition is unduly repressed, it will find side
vent in mischief, as it does in others.

It is a very common remark, that scholars in
schools for the blind usually manifest more interest
in their studies, and a greater fondness for instruc-
tion, than those in common schools ; and there is
some truth in it, especially if it be applied to those
of tender years. But the difference is not so great
as it is supposed to be by some, and it is not all

owing to the fact of blindness. The error arises
from considering only those blind who are sent to in-
stitutions and there manifest ability, and comparing
them with ordinary children. The true test would
be to take a hundred blind children and a hun-
dred seeing children, and compare them from birth
to youth. Such comparison would show that there
is a larger proportion of the blind who from bodily
weakness or disease are unable to attend school,
than of the seeing. Among those who enter the
institutions for the blind, there are many who mani-
fest great inclination or capacity for study, and these
are usually taken as the standard; but there are
others who manifest neither, and they should not
be left out of the account.

Again, schools for the blind are compared with
the average of common schools for the seeing, and
the children are found to be more fond of study;
whereas the comparison should be made only with
the very best common schools. In schools for the
blind, generally, the classification is better than in
ordinary schools; and the classes are smaller. But
the chief advantage is, that the instruction is oral,
and is presented in the most agreeable form. If blind
children were put into classes of forty or fifty, and
left to get their lessons by themselves, it is not likely
that they would show the same interest in them that
they do now.

Nevertheless, after all allowances are made, it is
still true that, upon the whole, the scholars in schools
for the blind do manifest more fondness for study
and more interest in their lessons than those in ordi-
nary schools, and it is most especially true of chil-

dren : as they become youths, the difference dimin-
ishes. The common and ready explanation of this
is, that, as lack of vision cuts off many of the
ordinary objects of attention and amusement, it also
increases the disposition for study and for mental
effort generally.

It may be remarked here, that this increase of
mental activity, and of the power of attention,
caused by the exclusion of visible objects, about
the advantages of which so much has been said, is
not always to be set down on the side of profit;
for it may have its disadvantages also, unless the
matter is carefully considered and understood by
teachers and pupils.

The active exercise of all the senses, (the minis-
ters of the perceptive faculties,) during the whole
period of childhood and youth, is essential to vig-
orous maturity of mind. Nature provides for this
in the restless curiosity of the young, and in the
supply of an infinite variety of objects, each endowed
with a great variety of qualities. At every instant,
during every waking hour of childhood and youth,
the nimble senses, especially the eye and the ear, the
nimblest of all, are taking note of external things,
their qualities, their relations, their successions, and
storing them up in the mind as materials for the
future use of the reasoning faculties. Acquaintance
with facts forms the substratum, the basis, upon
which the pyramid of knowledge rests; and the
deeper and the broader this basis is laid, the higher
will the structure rise. The simplest fact may be
useful, for as the smallest pebble in the base of a
pyramid helps to raise and sustain the apex, so may

the smallest item of knowledge elevate the crowning
reason, and give to it a wider horizon. This pro-
cess of building up is necessary for the elevation
of all common minds, however it may be with
men of genius, who seem to soar upon the wings
of intuition to the topmost height, and to embrace
at a glance the widest view, while others are toiling
up step by step, and slowly gaining a wider hori-
zon. In this aspect, the lack of one of the senses
is a hindrance to mental growth, and, if it were not
in some degree counteracted by increased activity
of the others, would be a much more serious one
than it actually is. Hence those engaged in in-
structing the blind should be careful to cultivate
the activity of the perceptive faculties, by giving
the greatest possible number and variety of objects
for the remaining senses to act upon. In doing
this, however, care must be taken to avoid another
evil, to wit, the precocious development of the re-
flective faculties. This precocity may be either in
time or in order ; that is, the reflective faculties may
be developed at too tender an age, or antecedently
to the development of faculties which should have
preceded in the order of time. A child may be led
to reason and to generalize at a period when he
ought to be exercising his perceptive faculties in
gathering knowledge ; or if this period is passed
in mental inaction, he may be led to reason and
to generalize without having first gathered sufficient
material. He does not place a pyramid upon a broad
base, but rears a column, which is very liable to
topple over. There is a tendency among the blind
to both these errors, and the course of their edu-

cation should be shaped with a view to avoid them.
Careful consideration of blind children who possess
ordinary talents will show that, while they know
fewer facts than seeing children of equal ability,
they are more thoughtful and reflective. Their
peculiarity becomes more apparent if we compare
them with deaf mutes. The comparison will show,
moreover, what may b'e worth the attention of meta-
physicians ; to wit, that through the eye come mostly
the means of knowing, through the ear the means
of thinking. The young deaf mutes see and perceive
the most; the blind discern and think the most.
The first may have more varied perceptions, the
second make their perceptions more the subjects of
reflection. The adult mute may have more knowl-
edge of things, but the adult blind has more knowl-
edge of principles.

The words knowing, thinking, and the like, are to
be taken in their popular meaning, for, of course,
all knowledge of external things, and indeed all
development of the intellectual faculties, must come
through impressions on the senses. It is equally of
course that all impressions upon the organs of sense,
which occasion sensations and perceptions, are the
atoms — the material — out of which thought and
knowledge are composed, and from the aggregate of
which the mental character is formed. Neverthe-
less, after all these allowances are made, it will be
found that the amount and kind of thought and
knowledge, and the quality of mental character, are
greatly modified by the medium through which the
first impressions have been received, and the sensa-
tions awakened.

This matter may be made clear by another view,
which will, moreover, show at the same time the
immense influence of society in forming individual
character. All persons are incessantly engaged, dur-
ing the period of childhood and youth, in the active
exercise of their perceptive faculties, — looking,
listening, smelling, tasting, feeling, — and thus gath-
ering a store of impressions touching the quali-
ties and relations of things. In this busy employ-
ment, the individuals fly all abroad over the field
of existence, like bees in search of the flowers of
knowledge, without much concert of action, but
each one relying mainly upon his own individual
effort. When, however, the honey of thought is
to be stored, and principles and axioms to be formed,
then the bees come home to society, and then begins
that mutual aid, that interchange of labors, that so-
cial communing, without which all previous labors
are of little worth. The bee's thighs may be laden
with sweets, — the man's brain with impressions, —
but without the hive, and without the community,
neither honey nor knowledge avails much for fu-
ture use.

After all his efforts and his experience, man learns
much more that is really valuable from others than
he can by himself; and if we take into account the
vast treasures left in the common storehouse of
knowledge by preceding generations, the amount
added by each individual sinks into insignificance.
But most especially are the higher and crowning
parts of the intellect brought to perfection by the
action of mind upon mind; and this action is
mainly through the medium of language, spoken or

written, but in ordinary cases far more by the former
than the latter. " Give me," said a convict who had
long been immured in one of our prisons, — " give
me a live man for one night in my cell, and I will
learn more from him than I can learn from all the
books and papers that I can read in a year." Now
this medium of speech is possessed fully and entirely
by the blind man, while it is possessed but very im-
perfectly by the deaf mute; and no amount of study
and labor can ever overcome the distance between
them. The blind can master fully and entirely the
ordinary language of the society in which they live,
as other children master it, without labor; while the
mutes learn it but partially and imperfectly, even
with ever so much labor. To the blind it becomes
vernacular, — to the mute it ever remains a foreign
idiom, whose niceties he cannot master. Even those
who by rare abilities and by great study come near-
est to it, fail to catch the subtler parts of the sense,
— the aroma, as it were, of language ; as when, for
instance, the point and the wit lie in delicate play
upon words. How much more so must it be with
persons of ordinary talent and ordinary culture !

As compared, then, with deaf mutes of equal natu-
ral ability, the blind man has a less valuable organ
for perception; his knowledge of sensible things and
qualities gathered from personal observation may
be much smaller, but his means for availing himself
of the knowledge gained by others, and his capacity
for developing his own reasoning powers and his
higher mental faculties, are far greater. Even with
less knowledge, he may have far more understanding.

The history of the mutes and of the blind confirms

what would seem to be the natural inference from a
priori reasoning. In the annals of the mutes we
find many who distinguished themselves by keenness
of perception, by quickness and brilliancy of imag-
ination, and who even displayed their power in the
concrete, as by excellence in the fine arts; but we
find none who gave proof of great reasoning faculties,
— no philosophers. Among the blind, on the other
hand, we find many who possessed in an eminent de-
gree the reflective faculties, and who were fond and
capable of the widest generalizations and the highest
range of reason, — men of truly philosophic minds.
As compared with seeing persons of equal natural
ability, the blind have still fewer advantages for
perception and observation, and during youth they
will usually be behind in variety and extent of
knowledge; but as the activity of the perceptive
faculties diminishes, and the higher intellectual pow-
ers are developed, the distance between them rapidly
diminishes ; and it often happens that the infirmity of
the blind causes them to cultivate and to exercise
their reflective powers, until they are able to outstrip
their more favored competitors in mental growth.
It must be understood, however, that these remarks
apply to exceptional cases, and that as a general
rule blindness is an indication of lack of ordinary
vital force in the system, and an obstacle to harmo-
nious and full development of mental power.

But it is time to return from these general remarks,
to the immediate subject of the school. The classes
have made satisfactory progress in their various
studies, and several pupils will be discharged at the
end of this term, who are well acquainted with all

the elementary branches, and have considerable
knowledge and skill in music. The years that they
have passed in mental activity, and the knowledge
they have acquired, cannot fail to be of great advan-
tage to them in after life ; and to lessen the fearful
odds against them in the antagonism and the strife
which unhappily still pervade society, — a strife in
which the weakest goes to the wall. It may not be
easy to see how the acquaintance with this or that
branch of study, or even how a general cultivation
of his intellectual faculties, is going to be of imme-
diate use to a blind youth, or of any direct service
to him in getting his livelihood; nevertheless, it is
certain that with a cultivated mind he is better pre-
pared to play his part in life than with an unculti-
vated one. They are blind indeed who doubt this,
and they would hardly see the blaze of proof which
flashes conviction on other minds as soon as pre-
sented.

The department of instruction has been mainly
under the care of Miss M. C. Paddock, assisted by
Miss Sophia Carter, who have given great satisfac-
tion by their fidelity, zeal, and discretion.

Great attention has been paid, as indeed in all
preceding years, to the study of music, both in the-
ory and practice. Besides excellent instruction given
daily by an accomplished teacher, and the use of
good instruments, the pupils have had the great ad-
vantage of attending concerts and rehearsals in the
city. The whole responsibility for musical instruc-
tion has devolved upon Mr. Anthon Werner, who
has discharged his duties with ability and success.

The results of the systematic attempt, made about

the same time in different States, to impart mu-
sical instruction to a considerable number of blind
persons, have curiously illustrated, upon a small
scale, the operation of principles which govern more
important matters. When institutions for the blind
were first established, great expectations were enter-
tained, and great hopes were held out, that all who
were capable of becoming organists, tuners of pianos,
or teachers of vocal or instrumental music, would
surely find employment and earn a livelihood. The
public was interested ; and a demand was created,
which soon exceeded the supply. A great number
of blind persons turned their attention to music;
and some who were well qualified, but more who
were not well qualified, presented themselves in the
market. Concerts and lessons by the blind were the
order of the day. The market was overstocked, and
for the most part with inferior goods ; consequently
the demand fell, — blind musicians and music were
soon at a discount, — and much disappointment, and
some suffering, followed. Such was the state of the
matter during the years immediately succeeding the
establishment of institutions for the blind in the
principal States. These things, however, regulate
themselves. A few years ago, say from five to ten,
there was a general feeling of disappointment; in-
stitutions for the blind had not done what was
promised ; a great many blind persons had attempted
to get a livelihood by music, but the majority had
failed to do so. It was not considered how suddenly
they had been brought forward, and how very in-
ferior was the article they offered in the market.
But another change has taken place, or is going

on. Many of those who without natural ability and
without laborious study had taken advantage of the
newly awakened interest of the public, and expected
that people would continue to listen to and pay for
poor music, because made by them, found their mis-
take. They found that the public tired of poor con-
certs, and would not take lessons of incompetent
teachers ; in fine, they found that music could not be
made to pay, except by those really masters of it ;
and they took themselves out of the way. Mean-
time, others of more ability or more industry kept
on resolutely in the study of music, and established
themselves in different places, with the determina-
tion to be content with small beginnings, and to
persevere to the end. The good effects are beginning
to be seen. Several have already gained the con-
fidence of the community, and are beginning to
earn a comfortable livelihood by teaching music,
tuning pianos, or playing the organ in churches.
The result shows, that, though the most sanguine
hopes entertained at the outset have not been real-
ized, yet very much has been accomplished. It is
now established, beyond a doubt, that if blind per-
sons who have a decided taste and talent for music,
and a natural aptness for teaching, will labor perse-
veringly to qualify themselves, they may have reason-
able assurance of success. It is with regard to music
precisely as it is with regard to mattresses, or any
thing else offered in the market by the blind, — at
first the public purchases without much attention
to quality, out of sympathy with the venders ; but
it soon returns to the settled principles of trade, and
refuses poor articles at any price.

The instruction of the boys in the hours devoted
to manual labor and learning their trades, and in-
deed the general care of them when not in attend-
ance upon classes, have devolved upon Mr. G. T.
Murdock, formerly a pupil, and now an able and
valuable assistant. The like offices for the girls have
been faithfully discharged by Miss M. Neilson.

Both boys and girls spend three hours in the after-
noon in various kinds of simple handicraft work, and
the employment is beneficial to them in many ways.
It furnishes a gentle stimulus to the mental faculties,
while it prevents that morbid activity of brain which
too much study produces in all young persons, and
especially in the young blind. It helps to form
regular habits of industry. It trains the body, and
especially the hand, to strength, and to activity and
dexterity of motion. It is thus not only essential to
those who expect to earn their livelihood by work-
ing at a trade, but it is highly useful to all, and
should be viewed with more favor and less dislike
than it usually receives. It is an essential feature
in the division and employment of time, in every
well-regulated institution for the blind.

WORK DEPARTMENT.

The "Work Department has been managed in the
same manner as it was the last year, which has been
found very satisfactory. A contract was made with
Mr. Patten, upon terms, however, a little more favor-
able to the Institution than the former one. The
settlement on the 31st of December, 1851, showed
that Mr. Patten had made a net profit of $ 772.33 ;

the Institution having given him the advantage
of the use of horse and wagon. This year the
contract was renewed on the following terms. Mr.
Patten as agent was to take all the stock and man-
ufactured articles on hand, at the prices named in
the account of stock; also to take all the debts
as so much cash. He was to make all new pur-
chases of stock, to pay the rent of the store, the
wages of his assistants and of the blind workmen,
to do his own carting, find his own fuel, pay the
insurance, — in a word, to be at the whole expense
of carrying on the Work Department. The In-
stitution engaged only to pay the expense of keeping
the books by some person, who was to be responsi-
ble to it, and not to the agent. In return, the agent
is to have all he can make over and above the actual
expenses. He is not deterred by the small amount
of profits for the past year, but hopes to increase
them during the current one.

This arrangement has many advantages. It sim-
plifies the matter very much. It frees the Institu-
tion from pecuniary responsibility. It insures econ-
omy in the use of stock, and caution against loss
through bad debts, by making it for the pecuniary
advantage of the agent to save as much and lose
as little as possible. The blind persons employed
do not board in the house, nor depend upon the In-
stitution for any thing but a supply of work. They
are masters of their own time and actions, the same
as other workmen are.

The results of the last year's operations may be
briefly stated thus.

The assets rendered by the agent in the settle-

ment of the account of 1851, and received by him
as so much cash, on renewal of the contract for 1852,
were as follows : —

Stock on hand and manufactured articles, . $7,545.46
Debts due from individuals, .... 3,453.26
Cash, 546.55

$11,545.27
Balance of indebtedness, 885.88

$12,431.15

The liabilities assumed by him were as follows : —

Amount due to the Institution for capital originally

invested, $6,256.96

" of debts to individuals, . . . 6,174.19

$ 12,431.15

The settlement, December 31, 1852, exhibited the
following results : —

Assets.

Stock on hand and manufactured articles, . $9,442.18

Debts due from individuals, .... 4,918.23
Cash, 285.60

$14,646.01
Balance of indebtedness, .... 1,595.88

$16,241.89

Liabilities.

Amount due to the Institution for capital originally

invested, $6,256.96

" of loan for increase of capital, . . 2,000.00
" of debts to individuals, . . . 7,984.93

$16,241.89

This shows that the profits of the agent, which
amounted in 1851 to $ 772.33, amounted in 1852
to only $ 62.33. This sum is of course taken by
Mr. Patten, and charged to the establishment, and
makes the balance of indebtedness the same as it was

when he first assumed the responsibility ; that is,
$885.88 + his profits $772.33 = $1,658.21.

This matter may perhaps be made clearer by being
stated in another form. When the agent took the
shop, it owed to the Institution and to individuals
more than it had stock and good debts to show for ;
that is, its liabilities exceeded its assets by $ 1,658.21,
which was the balance of indebtedness against it.
The agent was to have all he could make. At the
end of the year the accounts showed that the liabil-
ities of the shop exceeded the assets by only $ 885.88,
— instead of $ 1,658.21 as at the beginning, so that
the balance of indebtedness against the shop was re-
duced by $ 772.33. This sum the agent took as
his profits ; it was charged as so much cash paid, and
of course brought up the balance of indebtedness
to the original sum, $ 1,658.21. At the end of

1852, he had reduced the balance of indebtedness to
$1,595.88; which was only $62.33. This is all
his profit for the year • he takes it, it is charged to
the shop, and the balance of indebtedness, January 1,

1853, stands as in former years, $ 1,658.21.

The amount paid to blind persons employed dur-
ing the year, in cash, for their wages, is $ 3,993.33,
being $ 305.44 more than was paid the last year.

The amount of sales in 1851 was $18,370.14;
in 1852, it was $ 19,289.74, being an increase of
$919.60.

The various parts of the Institution have thus
been noticed in detail. For the harmonious work-
ing of the whole, and for the general good results,
great credit is due to the zeal and fidelity of the

teachers and the general good conduct of the blind.
The Institution has now been more than twenty
years in operation; it has gone on steadily in its
course, and it is a cause of gratulation that that
course has not been interrupted by a single obstacle
or untoward event of any considerable magnitude or
importance.

For the opportunity of aiding in this work of
beneficence, and for the great confidence and trust
always reposed in him, the Trustees have the thanks
of the undersigned.

S. G. HOWE.

APPENDIX B.

While the foregoing sheets were passing through
the press, the volume containing the full report of
the Juries at the Great Exhibition of the Industry
of all Nations, in London, was received.

The Report of the Jury upon the Books for the
Blind contains much that will be interesting to the
blind, and to persons whom this Report will be
likely to reach ; and therefore the following extracts
from it are made.

" While the puzzling question of an alphabet best
adapted both to the fingers of the blind and the eyes of
their friends, was under warm discussion on this side the
Atlantic, Dr. Howe was developing his system at Boston,
in the United States, and soon made those improvements
and modifications which have rendered the Boston press
so famous. He adopted the common Roman letter of
the lower case. His first aim was to compress the letter
into a comparatively compact and cheap form.

" This he accomplished by cutting off all the flourishes
and points about the letters, and reducing them to the
minimum size and elevation which could be distinguished
by the generality of the blind.

" He so managed the letters, that they occupied but a
little more than one space and a half, instead of three.
A few of the circular letters were modified into angular

shapes, yet preserving the original forms sufficiently to
be easily read by all. So great was this reduction, that
the entire New Testament, which according to Haiiy's
type would have filled nine volumes, and cost £ 20 ster-
ling, could be printed in two volumes for 16 shillings.
Early in the summer of 1834 he published the Acts of the
Apostles. Indeed, such rapid progress did he make in his
enterprise, that by the end of 1835 he printed in relief the
whole of the New Testament for the first time in any
language, in four handsome small-quarto volumes, com-
prising 624 pages, for four dollars. These were published
altogether in 1836.

" The alphabet thus contrived by Dr. Howe in 1833, it
appears, has never since been changed. It was imme-
diately adopted, and subsequently became extensively and
almost exclusively used by the several principal public in-
stitutions throughout the country It deserves only

to be better known in Great Britain and elsewhere, to be
appreciated. In America, seventeen of the States have
made provision for the education of their blind, and as
universal education is the policy of the country as well as
its proudest boast, these books for the blind soon became
in great demand. Dr. Howe some time since proposed
a library for the blind, and, with a view of increasing the
number of books as rapidly as possible, arrangements
have been made between the several institutions and
presses to exchange books with each other, and not to
print any work already belonging to the library of the
blind. This harmony of action, together with the uni-
formity of the typography, presents so many obvious ad-
vantages, that the Jury cannot but wish a similar system
were pursued by the Institutions of Great Britain and
the Continent of Europe. We subjoin a list of the books
printed at the press of the Perkins Institution, in Boston.

" From this list it appears that, exclusive of the three
volumes not fully described, 7,903 pages, containing on an

average 77 square inches, have been printed at this press,
or more than twelve times the quantity of matter contained
in the New Testament. Almost all the books are stereo-
typed, and small editions are struck off as they are re-
quired. They are sold at the actual cost, the cost of the
larger works being averaged on an edition of 250 copies.
The above prices include the binding; fifty per cent, dis-
count is made for books sold in sheets. The books are
embossed in the Institution under the superintendence of
Dr. Howe himself, by means of a powerful press, built
for the purpose. The sale of books in 1851 amounted to
$ 427. This, however, is exclusive of the Scriptures.
The American Bible Society, which now uses the stereo-
type plates of the Bible described above, distributed last
year 149 volumes of the Bible. In short, the Boston
books possess a neatness, clearness, sharpness, and dura-
bility of impression peculiar to themselves. The seventh
volume of the Cyclopaedia is already printed, and the Jury
learn with pleasure that the printing of the remaining
volumes will be resumed, and probably be finished in
twenty volumes, very soon. Want of funds is the tempo-
rary and only obstacle.

" Early in 1833, Jacob Snider, a young gentleman, native
of Philadelphia, applied his mind to the contrivance of a
method of printing in relief.

" The alphabet at first adopted was a mixture of the
upper and lower case italics, and the relief was produced
by heavy pressure on thick paper between two sheets of
copper having the letters deeply cut. The embossing was
thus on both sides.

" His first attempt, after printing a few elementary
sheets, was on the Gospel of St. Mark, which he com-
pleted by the end of 1833, in a large quarto volume, and
published early in January, 1834. An account of his first
American book for the blind may be found in Poulson's

American Daily Advertiser, of the 16th of January, 1834.
The Four Gospels were soon after printed in Roman
capitals; but being found too bulky and otherwise ob-
jectionable, they were abandoned, and a smaller, more
compact, and sharper type, in the Roman capitals, was
adopted.

" For the list of books printed at the Philadelphia press,
see Table.

" It appears that the Boston and Philadelphia institu-
tions were founded almost simultaneously, and that their
presses and system of typography were established with-
out being apprised of the efforts of each other. Time,
however, has at length remedied this diversity. The ty-
pography of the Philadelphia books is exceedingly well ex-
ecuted, and compares most favorably with the best of the
Glasgow books, but the press has ceased to work, and
printing in capital letters will not probably be resumed.

" From the preference which the present distinguished
and intelligent Director of the Philadelphia institution,
Mr. William Chapin, late Superintendent of the Ohio
institution, is known to entertain for the Boston system
of typography we may reasonably hope that, when print-
ing shall be resumed there, it will be with Howe's alpha-
bet. It is the opinion, however, of Mr. Chapin, that all the
American institutions should unite, not only in the use of
the same alphabet, but that they should all contribute to
support one press.

" It may be remarked here, that the pupils in all the
American institutions read fluently in both the upper and
lower case letters; but it is presumed that Philadelphia
and Glasgow books will soon be entirely abandoned there ;
and as the Boston books can now be obtained in London
at a price cheaper than any of the five different systems of
books printed in Great Britain, it is to be hoped that they
will come into general use here. If it be thought that the
letters are too small for adults to read with ease, books

may be printed with larger types, and even then be less
bulky and expensive than any of the systems in arbitrary
characters now in use.

" In the year 1848 or 1849 the Virginia institution set up
a press, and has printed several elementary and school
books. The Boston type is adopted, with the exception
that capitals are used at the beginning of sentences and
proper names. This alteration, in the opinion of the Jury,
is not an improvement, as the blind are thus compelled
to learn two alphabets instead of one. The Virginia books
are well embossed, and it is hoped that in future books
capitals will be omitted.

" To the American Bible Society at New York much
praise is due for their commendable efforts in the circula-
tion of the Scriptures among the blind. The stereotype
plates of the Bible in six volumes, executed at the Boston
press, under the superintendence of Dr. Howe, now belong
to this Society. They have printed a second edition from
the same plates, and annually distribute gratuitously from
100 to 300 volumes.

" It had ceased to be a matter of surprise in the United
States that the blind could read, before the public atten-
tion was loudly called to the subject in Great Britain; for
we see that in 1836 there were two active printing estab-
lishments for the blind in the United States; by one, the
whole of the New Testament had been published in a cheap
form, in the common lower-case letters, and by the other the
Four Gospels in Roman capitals. Let us now return to
the Society of Arts of Edinburgh, and their prize medal,
to which we have already referred. It was not until the
31st of May, 1837, that the Society's medal was awarded.
In 1836, when the nineteen different alphabets were before
the committee of the Society, circulars were drawn up
and distributed, with specimens of the several alphabets,
to the various institutions for the blind in England and
Scotland, and every means employed to arrive at a cor-

rect result. The opinions of Mr. Taylor, of York, and
Mr. Alston, of Glasgow, seem to have been those which
the Society chiefly followed. They were in favor of the
common Roman capital letter, merely deprived of the
seruphs, or small strokes at their extremities, and accord-
ingly the prize was awarded to Dr. Fry, of London ; and
on the 31st of May, 1837, a medal was granted to him
for the invention of an alphabet which appears to have
been in use since 1833 in Philadelphia.

" On receiving the Society's circular in 1836, submitting
the forms of all the competing alphabets to him, Mr. Al-
ston was struck with the simplicity of Fry's, and imme-
diately conceived the idea of making such alterations as
he thought necessary, and putting it to the test. The
changes made were simply to reduce the side of the letters
and render the faces thinner. On the 26th of October,
1836, he exhibited his first specimen of printing in relief
in the Roman capital letter, at a public examination of the
blind. It was Fry's alphabet slightly changed to improve
the sharpness of the embossing. He then made a suc-
cessful appeal for a printing fund. After great exertions
and most commendable perseverance he procured a print-
ing-press, with two fonts of type, and the other neces-
sary printing apparatus.

" In January, 1837, he issued a few elementary works.
By March, 1838, he had made such progress that the whole
of the New Testament was printed in four super-royal
quarto volumes. The type is great primer, and there are in
the four volumes 623 leaves of 42 lines to a page. In De-
cember, 1840, Mr. Alston completed the printing of the Old
Testament in fifteen super-royal quarto volumes, in double
pica type. Of nine of the volumes he printed 200, and
of the remaining six, 250 copies. There are in all these
fifteen volumes 2,535 pages, with 37 lines on a page. Mr.
Alston was justly proud of his great work, the entire Bible,
containing the Old and New Testaments, in nineteen vol-

umes. In his ' Statements of the Education, Employments,
and Internal Arrangements adopted at the Asylum for the
Blind, Glasgow, with a Short Account of its Founder,
&c.,' 10th ed., 1846, 8vo, pp. 80, he says, ' This is the first
Bible ever printed for the blind ' ; but in this he was evi-
dently in error, as we have shown that the greater part of
it had long before been printed in Boston. We allude to
these facts merely because it seems a matter of much re-
gret that Mr. Alston should have devoted so much enter-
prise and money in producing the Scriptures, when he
might have ascertained that they had already been printed,
and could have been bought at less money than it would
cost him to print them. The main difference between the
Glasgow and the Boston alphabets is, that one is in the
upper and the other is in the lower case, which difference
is certainly not of sufficient consequence to demand two
editions. Had he expended the same energy and money
in producing other valuable books, and exchanged them
with the Boston and Philadelphia institutions, as he was
urged to do, the three institutions would have been greatly
benefited by the large outlay, and the blind of both coun-
tries would have had a great increase to their library. On
the 18th of January, 1838, the officers of the Philadelphia
institution wrote to Mr. Alston, informing him that they
possessed a printing-press, and, ' understanding that you
adopt the same, character, it appears to our Board of Man-
agement that both institutions would gain by an inter-
change of volumes.' Mr. Alston at once acceded to this
proposition, and immediately shipped 150 volumes, being
ten full sets of the New Testament, and fifty single copies
of the Gospels, besides multiplication-tables and other
works. We subjoin a complete list of the books issued
from the Glasgow press since its first establishment.

" Since the death of Mr. Alston, on the 26th of August,
1846, the Glasgow press has almost ceased to work.

« A few of the volumes have been reprinted. It is at

present engaged in reprinting the Gospel of St. John and
the Acts of the Apostles. Since 1837 it has been almost
the only press that has supplied England, Ireland, and
Scotland with embossed books in Roman type. These
books are typographically well executed, and the Jury
think that Mr. Alston and the Glasgow press are deserv-
ing of great praise.

" The objections, however, to the small Roman capitals,
in which most of the books are printed, are such, that
it is to be hoped that ere long this press will follow the
example of that at Philadelphia, and adopt Howe's ty-
pography.

" In France, Belgium, Prussia, Austria, Switzerland,
and the United States, the Roman lower-case alphabet
is used. In most, if not all, of these countries, the insti-
tutions for the blind are supported and partially controlled
by government, and perhaps this is the reason why, in all
of them, nearly the same system of typography prevails.

" In Great Britain, however, the case is different. There
are now five entirely different systems of typography in
use here, and vigorously pressed upon the benevolent
public.

" The unfortunate blind are thus deprived of the advan-
tages they might have if harmony of action and uniform-
ity of typography were adopted. This diversity of opinion
is causing great injustice to them, and the Jury cannot
but urge upon the parties concerned the speedy adoption
of some one system throughout the country. Our opinion
is decidedly in favor of Howe's American typography.
Perfection is not claimed for this system, but it seems to
us that there are fewer objections to it than to any of the
others, and it may be the more easily improved ; but any
one of the five principal systems now used in England is
far better than so many. The present state of printing
in the Roman character in Great Britain is, as we have
seen already, that every press has been stopped, while the

books in arbitrary characters seem to be increasing and
gaining public favor. The principal of these is one known
as Lucas's. It was devised by T. M. Lucas, of Bristol,
about the year 1S35. It consists of arbitrary characters,
and is said to be founded on Byron's system of stenog-
raphy. It is simple, speedily learned, and easily read by
the touch, and is generally acknowledged to be of all the
arbitrary systems the best.

" If now the New Testament, printed in all the six sys-
tems used in the English language, be taken as a stand-
ard of comparison, the following table will show the re-
sults : —

Number

Number of

Systems.

Size.

of Lines in

Square Inches

Price.

Vols

Pages

a Page.

in a Page.

£ s. d.

Howe's .

4to

430

—

117

0 16 0

Alston's .

623

2 0 0

Gall's . .

—

2 0 0

Lucas's .

841

2 0 0

Frere's .

obl. 4to

723

—

110

2 10 0

Moon's .

—

110

4 10 0

" By a comparison of all these lists, it will be found that
Howe's books are not only much less in bulk than any of
the others, but are also much cheaper

" The Jury beg to suggest, that a uniform system should
be adopted, and that, in future, all books printed for the
blind should be printed in the same character

" Dr. Howe's plan appears simple, easy, and fit for gen-
eral adoption

" His system has been fully described, and to it the Jury
give the preference above all others."

LIST OF BOOKS

PRINTED AT THE

PERKINS INSTITUTION AND MASSACHUSETTS
ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

WITH PRICES OF SUCH AS ARE FOR SALE.

Nn. of
Volumes.

Lardner's Universal History,
Howe's Geography,

" Atlas of the Islands,
English Reader, First Part,

" " Second Partj

The Harvey Boys,
The Pilgrim's Progress,
Baxter's Call,
English Grammar,
Life of Melancthon,
Constitution of the United States,
Book of Diagrams,
Viri Romee, .

Peirce's Geometry, with Diagrams
Political Class-Book, .
First Table of Logarithms,
Second " "

Principles of Arithmetic,
Astronomical Dictionary,
Philosophy of Natural History,
Rudiments of Natural Philosophy
Cyclopaedia, ....
The Book of Common Prayer,
Guide to Devotion,
New Testament (Small),
New " (Large),

Old
Book of Psalms,

" Proverbs,
Psalms in Verse,
Psalms and Hymns,
The Dairyman's Daughter,

" Spelling-Book,

" Sixpenny Glass of Wine,
Howe's Blind Child's Manual,
" " " First Book,

" " " Second Book,

Total number,

Price per
Volume.

$3.00
3.00
2.50
3.00
3.00
1.00
2.50
1.50
1.00
1.50
1.50
1.50
2.00
2.00
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.00
1.50
3.00
3.00
3.00

1.00

1.00
1.00

APPENDIX.

GENERAL ABSTRACT OF THE
Dr. Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the

For amount paid on orders of Auditors of Accounts, for

various disbursements, as per accounts rendered, . $20,104.67

Cash for 10 Shares of Boston and Providence Railroad, . 900.00

Balance on hand to new account, .... 1,030.73

$22,035.40

Boston, January 1th, 1853.
The undersigned, a Committee appointed to examine the accounts of the
Treasurer of the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the
Blind, for the year 1852, have attended to that duty, and hereby certify
that they find the accounts to be correctly cast, and properly vouched,
and the balance in favor of the Institution to be one thousand and thirty
dollars 5™, say $1,030.73.

The Treasurer also exhibited to us evidence of the following property
belonging to the Institution : —

9 Shares

in New England Bank,

. $900.00

State Bank,

4,980.00

20 "

Tremont Bank, .

1,975.00

Columbian Bank,

1,600.00

Atlas Bank,

3,368.75

Concord Railroad,

1,250.00

10 "

Boston and Providence Railroad,

900.00

2 Certificates City of Boston Water

Scrip, .

2,000.00

$16,973.75

TREASURER'S REPORT FOR 1852.

Blind, in Account with T. B. Wales, Jr., Treasurer. Cr.

By Balance on hand, Jan. 1, 1852, . . . $1,560.09

" Amount received from State of Massachusetts, $9,000.00

" N. Hampshire, 550.00
" Connecticut, 785.23

" Vermont, 897.88

" Rhode Island, 250.00

" Maine, 1,000.00

Paying Pupils, . . 536.50

Legacy of J. Ingersoll,
" of Miss Tufts,
Donations,

" " " Dividends on Stocks,

" Sale of 30 Shares Columbian Bank,
" " " 4 " Boston and Maine Railroad,

Less Brokerage,

2,000.00

100.00

58.50

3,090.00

418.00

3^508700

8.50

13,019.61

2,158.50
1,118.70

" Sale of Books and Apparatus to other Institutions,
" Balance of Idiot Account,

- 3,499.50
300.45
378.55
$ 22,035.40

Errors excepted.
(Signed,) T. B. Wales, Jr., Treasurer.

Boston, Dec. 31, 1852.

Amount brought up, ... $ 16,973.75

Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased June, 1844, $765.64

1847, 5,000.00

" 1848, 5,500.00
Jan. 1850, 1,762.50
July, 1850, 1,020.25

$14,048.39

$31,022.14

(Signed,)

Joseph N. Howe,
James Hodge.

TERMS OF ADMISSION

Young blind persons, of good moral character, can be admitted
to the School by paying $> 160 per annum. This sum covers all
expenses, except for clothing ; namely, board, washing, medicines,
the use of books, musical instruments, &c. The pupils must fur-
nish their own clothing, and pay their own fares to and from the
Institution.

There is a vacation in the Spring, and another in the Autumn.
The friends of the pupils can visit them whenever they choose.

Indigent blind persons, of suitable age and character, belonging
to Massachusetts, can be admitted gratuitously, by application to
the Governor for a warrant.

The following is a good form, though any other will do : —

" To his Excellency the Governor : —

"Sir, — My son, (or daughter, or nephew, or niece, as the
case may be,) named A. B., and aged , cannot be instructed
in the common schools for want of sight. I am unable to pay for
the tuition at the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for
the Blind, and I request that your Excellency will grant a warrant
for free admission.

" Very respectfully, ."

The application may be made by any relation or friend, if the
parents are dead or absent.

It should be accompanied by a certificate from one or more
of the Selectmen of the town, or Aldermen of the city, in this
form : —

" I hereby certify, that, in my opinion, Mr. is not a

wealthy person, and that he cannot afford to pay 8 160 per annum
for his child's instruction.

(Signed,) " ."

There should also be a certificate, signed by some regular
physician, in this form : —

" I certify, that, in my opinion, has not sufficient

vision to be taught in common schools ; and that he is free from
epilepsy, and from any contagious disease.

(Signed,) " ."

These papers should be done up together, and directed to " The
Secretary of State, State-House, Boston, Mass."

An obligation will be required from some responsible person,
that the pupil shall be removed without expense to the Institution,
whenever it may be desirable to discharge him.

The usual period of tuition is from five to seven years.

Indigent blind persons residing in Maine, New Hampshire, Ver-
mont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and South Carolina, by applying
as above to the " Commissioners for the Blind," care of the Secre-
tary of State in the respective States, can obtain warrants of free
admission.

For further particulars, address Dr. S. G. Howe, Director of
the Institution for the Blind, Boston, Mass.

The relations or friends of the blind who may be sent to the
Institution are requested to furnish information in answer to the
following questions : —

1. What is the age of the applicant ?

2. Where was he born ?

3. Was he born blind ?

4. If not born blind, at what age did he become so ?

5. What is the supposed cause of the blindness ?

6. Have there been any cases of blindness, or deafness, or in-
sanity, in the family of the applicant, among his brothers and
sisters, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, or cousins ?

7. Were his parents or grandparents affected with scrofula, in
any form ; with consumption ; humors, such as salt-rheum ;
eruptions of any kind ; or had they any peculiarity of bodily
constitution whatever ?

8. Were the parents or the grandparents of the applicant related
to each other by blood ? If so, in what degree ?

OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION,

FOR 1853.

PRESIDENT.

RICHARD FLETCHER.

VICE-PRESIDENT.

STEPHEN FAIRBANKS.

TREASURER.

T. B. WALES, Jr.

SECRETARY.

SAMUEL G. HOWE.

TRUSTEES.

THOMAS G. GARY, ~]

THEOPHILUS P. CHANDLER, J

GEORGE B. EMERSON,

NATHANIEL B. EMMONS, ! In behalf of the

JOSEPH LYMAN, f Corporation.

SAMUEL MAY,

GEORGE R. RUSSELL,

CHARLES SUMNER, J

The Board of Visitors, consisting of the Gov-
ernor, Lieutenant-Governor, President of the Sen-
ate, Speaker of the House, &c., have appointed

THOMAS T. BOUVE, 1

ISAAC EMERY, I ~ . . , . jr , ., „. .

STEPHEN FAIRBANKS, > Trustees m behaI-f °f the Slaie-
EDWARD JAR VIS,

}lH

TWENTY-SECOND

ANNUAL REPORT

THE TRUSTEES

PERKINS INSTITUTION

MASSACHUSETTS
ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND,

CORPORATION

CAMBRIDGE:
METCALF AND COMPANY,

PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY.

18 5 4.

REPORT.

Jkrfefns Knstftutfon ant) ittassacjjusctts Sfsjjlum fov tl)c 3SUntr.

Boston, January 16, 1854.

To the Corporation.

Gentlemen, — The undersigned, Trustees appointed
by your Board, and by the authorities of the State,
respectfully submit their Annual Report, and the sev-
eral documents required by the law.

The Report of the Treasurer will show the condi-
tion of the finances.

The several inventories of real and personal estate
will show the amount of property of all kinds owned
by the Institution.

The Report of the Director will set forth the de-
tails of the history and condition of the establishment
during the past year. The undersigned, while fol-
lowing the example of preceding Boards, and leaving
the immediate care and management of the Institu-
tion to the Director, have not failed to satisfy them-
selves that their confidence was deserved.

The undersigned earnestly commend to the Board
and to their successors, the claim of the Institution
against the city of Boston for damages.

Six years ago the grounds and gardens, the out-
buildings and fences, were all in excellent order.
There were gardens well stocked with shrubbery and
trees of many years' growth, and there was easy access
upon the north and east sides. But the city altered
the existing grades, lowered Broadway, and cut
through the hills of the east and south, leaving pre-
cipices forty feet deep. It was necessary to abandon
the establishment and remove into the country, or go
to great expenditures of money in the expectation
that the city would reimburse it. The latter course
was adopted. A heavy embankment and a long flight
of steps saved the north side. On the east, a steep
embankment just saved the main building, but access
there had to be abandoned. The outbuildings and
fences had to be removed, the trees and shrubs cut
down, and the gardens destroyed, and the whole sur-
face removed and re-graded. The work has been
going on during five years, and has but recently been
completed by the city, so that the grounds of the
establishment could be put in order. More than
$ 6,000 have been expended from the scanty funds in
the treasury ; there has been a loss in buildings and
fences which $ 4,000 would not replace, and there
must still be a considerable expenditure of money to
finish the work ; and when all is done, the access to
the main building must ever be inconvenient. Dur-
ing all these years great inconvenience and discom-
fort have been suffered by the inmates, who have
been deprived of their play-ground, and by all con-
nected with the establishment.

The matter has been before a committee of the
Board of Aldermen, who have unanimously reported
that the city ought to pay the sum of $ 10,000 as
damages. If this were done, and the Institution
were exempted from taxation for sidewalks and sew-
ers, pecuniary justice would be done, but nothing
more.

The immediate and special object for which this
Institution was originally designed, to wit, the in-
struction of blind children of New England, has
been attained ; and so long as the annual appropria-
tions in its favor are continued by Massachusetts and
by the other States, so long may every blind child in
our borders have opportunities of instruction equal
to those enjoyed by seeing children in our best pub-
lic schools. But, as in every other work of benefi-
cence, the attainment of one object opens to the
beneficent mind new objects of interest and new
fields of labor. In the present case, two objects of
great interest and of pressing importance have been
disclosed ; the first is, to enable indigent blind per-
sons to earn their own livelihood by their own labors ;
the second, to provide a library of books in raised
print for those blind persons who have learned to
read.

With regard to the first, experience has proved
that the ordinary wages, or the income, of the com-
mon day-laborer so little exceeds his necessary daily
expenses, that when, as in the blind man's case, the
income falls short, then want presses on his heels.
The margin is so narrow, that, no matter how little
the income falls below the average, the want is im-
mediately felt, as, in a tread-mill, if the foot lags but
ever so little, the heel is ground.

Now some provision is needed by which the blind
man's margin may be a little enlarged, so that, while
he shall be held to work (as all ought to be who
would eat), yet, since through his infirmity his per-
formance is necessarily less than that of other men,
the reward for it shall be equally great, or enough to
live upon. This principle is sound and plain, and it
gives to the blind man a strong claim upon the jus-
tice of society. It ought to be acted upon ; never-
theless the Institution has not the pecuniary means
of acting upon it to any sufficient extent. There is
many a blind man, who, because he cannot quite earn
his living by work, is obliged to renounce work alto-
gether, and live at public charge.

Another object is the supply of books in raised
letters, — a library, in short, for the blind, contain-
ing dictionaries, books of science, and standard books
of reference.

Both these objects will be fully set forth in the
Report of the Director, but the undersigned cannot
leave their trust without earnestly commending them
to the attention of all who are able to do anything
towards promoting them.

Respectfully submitted by

THOMAS T. BOUVE,
THOMAS G. CAKY,
THEOPHILUS P. CHANDLER,
GEORGE B. EMERSON,
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS,
EDWARD JARVIS,
JOSEPH LYMAN,
SAMUEL MAY,
GEORGE R. RUSSELL,
G. HOWLAND SHAW,
W. D. TICKNOR.

REPORT

OF THE DIRECTOR TO THE TRUSTEES.

Gentlemen, — The following Report upon the his-
tory and condition of the Institution during the past
year is respectfully submitted.

The year has been one of pleasantness and prosper-
ity. By attention to the natural laws which govern
life, by considering them as divine commands, and by
obeying them as nearly as possible, the blessing of
health (which is in no other way attainable) has been
secured. Death has not invaded our borders, and
wherever his merciful forerunner, disease, has ap-
peared, to demand account of some sin against the
natural law, the forfeit has been light, and life has
been spared.

The number of blind persons connected with the
Institution in January, 1853, was, —

In the Junior Department, . . .61

In the Work Department, . . . 36

— 97
During the year 1853, there were admitted, —

To the Junior Department, . . .19

To the Work Department, ... 8

— 27
124

124

And there were discharged from the first, . 6
And from the second, .... 7

— 13

So that the present number is . . Ill

That is, seventy-four in the Junior, and thirty-seven
in the Adult Department.

The Institution has been conducted upon the same
general principles as in former years. The members
thereof have pursued their several occupations with
regularity and cheerfulness. Their time is divided
between the school-room, the music-room, the work-
shop, the play-ground, and the bed-room. Two va-
cations in the year give variety to the pupils, re-
laxation to the teachers, and the pleasures of home
to all.

The general conduct of the pupils has been good.
Not only have they shown that eagerness for study
and that desire for mental improvement which are
characteristic of the blind generally, but they have,
moreover, been docile and well-behaved. Though
under the instruction, and for the most part under
the government, of young women, and without any
fear of corporal punishment, they have nevertheless
rendered ready obedience to all that was required
of them. This speaks well for both parties; and
the blind and their friends should feel grateful for
the gentle firmness and the constant friendly watch-
fulness with which the Matron and the teachers
have discharged their several duties. The under-
signed, while painfully conscious of his inability to
do much for the daily and hourly pleasure and profit
of the blind, has great comfort in the knowledge that

so much is clone by the truly gentle and earnest wo-
men who are associated in the work.

The same course of study has been pursued by the
pupils as in the preceding years, and generally with
great thoroughness. Reading, writing, arithmetic,
algebra, geography, history, and physiology, are care-
fully taught and faithfully learned. The study of
music continues to be an important branch of instruc-
tion, and though not quite so much can be said of
the progress of the pupils during the past year as is
desirable, still they have made proficiency.

Upon the whole, the record of the year may be
filed away among the annals of the past, and inscribed,
" Read and approved " ; though nothing contained
therein should be considered as assuming that all has
been done that might have been done, or as lessening
the obligation to do more and better in future.

The Work Department for adults has been admin-
istered as an independent establishment, according
to the policy adopted several years ago. Thirty-seven
men and women have been kept supplied with work,
by the wages whereof they have been enabled to pay
their board at places of their own selection.

The experience of another year shows the superi-
ority of this over any other system that has yet been
tried. It gives to the blind certain inestimable ad-
vantages in a greater degree than any asylum, any
home, or any congregate establishment under what-
ever name, and however well managed, ever can
give them. It lessens their feeling of obligation and
increases their feeling of self-respect. It calls into
play all the faculties necessary for self-support and
self-guidance ; but which asylums and homes tend
2

to paralyze. It gives to every blind man and woman
that which we all claim for ourselves, the largest lib-
erty consistent with the rights of others. The^ best
argument in its favor, however, is, that those who
have enjoyed it would not willingly give it up for
any public asylum that could be provided for them.

The operations of the shop have been more exten-
sive than in any former year. The amount of sales
was, in 1852, #19,289.74; in 1853, #28,038.58.
The amount of wages paid to blind persons was, in
1852, #3,993.33; in 1853 it was #4,611.55.

The contract with Mr. Patten, the agent, was re-
newed, upon more favorable terms to the Institution
than before. He was to purchase all the materials,
pay the workmen, pay the rent and expenses of the
shop in town, keep his own team, in short, assume all
the expenses, and make all the sales at his own risk,
upon condition that he should have all the profit.
The Institution paid the salary of the bookkeeper,
and retained general supervision of the establishment.
The result shows that the agent has made a loss of
#418.67, besides the loss of his own time.

This loss, together with the salary of the book-
keeper, paid by the Institution, makes the net cost
of carrying on the workshop fall a little short of eight
hundred dollars. This is the worst view of the case.
By means of this expenditure nearly forty men and
women have been kept employed during the year.
They have earned and received over four thousand
dollars in wages, and the business has been enlarged
so that more persons may be employed and more
. wages paid in future. Surely twenty-five dollars a
year is a small sum to enable a blind man to compete

with seeing workmen, — to put him upon an equal-
ity with them, and enable him to earn his own liveli-
hood and to sit at his own hearthstone. There is a
more favorable view, however ; for the loss last year is
attributable mainly to the failure of two firms with
which our shop traded, and by which a loss of $ 643.77
was sustained. This need not occur again, for al-
though it seems impossible to trade in this commu-
nity and to keep entirely clear of the crooked, waste-
ful, and demoralizing course into which abuse of the
credit system drives both buyers and sellers, still
something may be done by greater firmness than the
agent has hitherto shown. Hundreds of wealthy
people, and hundreds whose character is more than
wealth, present themselves at our counter and buy
from one to one hundred dollars' worth of goods,
which they expect will be charged to them. And in
one sense they have a right to expect it, for in the
present universal custom of charging everything,
from a skein of thread to a man-of-war's cable, they
might well feel aggrieved if credit were refused them.
But if they will look at the matter a moment they
will not feel aggrieved by being asked to forego, at
least when dealing with the blind, a system which is
sure in the long run to cause great trouble, loss of
time, of money, and of patience.

We are sometimes called upon to make a charge
of less than a dollar, — yea, less than a dime, — against
very respectable and affluent people. But we will
suppose the amount is a dollar. This must first be
written down in the " Blotter," then entered upon
the " Journal," then posted into the " Leger." Now,
to say nothing about " trial balances " and other

botherations of bookkeepers, suppose this bill of one
dollar is made out in July or January by the clerk
and handed to the boy. He trots up to number
seven hundred and forty-eleven Washington Street,
rings, and sends in the bill. The lady sends word
that " she has not the change in the house, but if
the boy will just step down to the counting-room, on
Commercial Wharf, her husband will settle it." Away
goes the boy to Commercial Wharf, and if he is in
luck he catches the gentleman before he has " gone
on 'Change." The gentleman says, he dares say it
is all right, but then there are so many of those
" plaguey little bills " that he had rather speak to his
wife about it ; and wishes the boy would call up at
the house some day after dinner. Accordingly, not
to seem too pressing, some day the next week the
boy rings at the door, and the servant who hurriedly
opens it tells him there is " company to dinner," and
she don't like to trouble the gentleman just then, —
the boy had better come by and by, — an hour hence.
The boy retires meekly, and if he has any other
" plaguey little bill " in that neighborhood he goes
with it ; if not, he considers whether it is best for
him to lounge about for the hour, or try to run down
to the store and back, when, perhaps, some kindred
spirit comes along with a marble or a top and decides
the matter for him. At the end of the hour he rings
again, and this time it is nearly all right. The lady
recollects that she had the article, and that it was a
very good one ; the gentleman is good-natured, and
says he " would be very happy to pay the bill, only he
has not change enough about him, but he will try to
think to send the amount into the store to-morrow,"

which, perhaps, he does ; but then, again, perhaps he
don't. Now suppose he don't, and that the amount is
carried to " profit and loss " in despair, who is to pay
for the loss % Why, in the ordinary course of things,
the other customers. But suppose he does pay one
hundred cents for an article which cost net ninety-
five, and at least fifty-five for collecting, who is to pay
the loss 1 Why, the other customers to be sure.

It is true that this habit of doing business has
called into existence a class of adroit and " knowing "
men called collectors, who have great success in the
pursuit of money " under difficulties," and who pre-
vent some demoralization to shop-boys ; but after all,
the habit, for it can hardly be called a system, is very
bad, at least for our business. It is, however, so com-
mon here, — it is considered so much a matter of
course, by those who trust everybody, that everybody
will trust them, — that many deem it impossible to
carry on a retail business without either falling into
it, or else giving offence and losing custom. Never-
theless, the habit is so loose and slovenly, so costly,
so vexatious to many and unsatisfactory to all, that
in the case of our shop a strong effort must be made
to break away from it. Our customers are for the
most part considerate persons, and will take no of-
fence where none is intended.

It is highly desirable that the business of the Work
Department should be increased, in order that its ben-
efits may be extended to a larger number of persons.
It ought to have a much larger working capital than
it has ever yet had. The scanty funds of the Institu-
tion, however, do not suffice to provide for this. In-
deed, they do not suffice to carry out other plans of

pressing importance, and which have been so often
commended to the attention of the Board, and so often
approved by it.

One is the investment of a fund, the interest of
which should be devoted to eking out the wages of
men and women who can earn nearly, but not quite,
enough to support themselves. They can earn enough
to pay for three weeks' board in a month, but because
they cannot pay for the fourth, and cannot get trusted
for it, they must remain idle and be supported by pub-
lic or private charity somewhere else. They are like
people wishing to swim across a river, who have heart
and strength for three fourths of the distance, but not
for the whole. It is not proposed to provide them a
ferry-boat, but to throw them a rope, and to help them
to land.

This is a matter which so much commends itself to
the hearts of philanthropists that there is strong hope,
in a community like ours, of its finding some one
who has the will and the means of carrying it into
execution.

Another plan is that of providing a fund for print-
ing books for the blind ; a plan for the accomplish-
ment of which many who are sitting in darkness are
continually hoping.

Greatly as we desire the accomplishment of these
purposes and plans, deeply as we may lament that
the funds of the Institution do not suffice for all we
project and wish for, we must not forget how much
there is to be grateful for. The cause of the blind
has taken deep hold of the hearts of the people of
Massachusetts and of New England, and it will never
be neglected. It is as much a matter of certainty that

liberal provision will be made by the public for the
instruction of the blind, as that it will be for the
instruction of the most favored class. A school or
schools for the blind is indeed a necessary part of
the system of Common Schools. Nor is this confined
to New England. The principal States of the Union
have established institutions for the blind within
their borders ; or have made liberal provision for
the instruction of their beneficiaries at other schools.
One of the most interesting events of the past year
was the Convention of Superintendents and Teachers
of the Blind, held in New York in the month of
August. There were there present representatives
of seventeen schools, and they all gave favorable
accounts of the cause of the blind in their various
sections of the Union.* When we recall to mind
that twenty-eight years ago the good Dr. Fisher and
two or three believing friends had obtained an act of
incorporation for the first institution for the blind
in the United States, but for several years could not
obtain means of putting it in operation, and then re-
flect that they are now springing up all over the
country, there is surely reason for gratulation.

These institutions are for the most part established
upon a liberal scale, and upon sound principles. They
differ from most of the European institutions in two
important respects. First, they are not intended as
asylums, as places for the maintenance of the blind.
They are strictly schools ; establishments for the
instruction of the blind and their training in some

* The proceedings of this meeting should be put upon more permanent
record than the columns of newspapers afford, and they are therefore in-
serted in this Report as an Appendix.

art or calling by which the inmates can obtain a live-
lihood.

Second, they are not regarded as charitable or
eleemosynary institutions, but as public schools,
to the benefits of which the blind have the same
right as ordinary children have to Common Schools.
They are for the most part administered (as they
should always be) upon the principle, that the State is
bound to furnish the means of instruction to all chil-
dren, and since no provision is made for this class in
Common Schools, it must be made in special schools
or institutions. The adoption of this liberal princi-
ple is a great advance upon the system of doling out
alms to the blind, or building charity asylums for
their support. It takes them out of the category of
humble dependents and recipients of charity, and rec-
ognizes their social equality.

A still further advance of public opinion will doubt-
less recognize the claim of the blind upon society for
full employment or labor, and sufficient compensation
therefor to procure a decent livelihood.
Respectfully submitted by

S. G. HOWE.

APPENDIX

GENERAL ABSTRACT OF THE
Dr. Perkins Institution for the Blind in

For amount paid on orders of the Auditors of Accounts, for

various disbursements during the year, as per account, $ 14,327.63
Paid for 5 Shares of new stock, Tremont Bank, . . 500.00

Balance to new account, ....... 771.08

$15,598.71

Boston, '6\st January, 1854.

The undersigned, a Committee appointed to examine the accounts of
the Treasurer of the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the
Blind, for the year 1853, have attended to that duty, and hereby certify
that they find the accounts to be correctly cast, and properly vouched, and
the balance to be seven hundred and seventy-one dollars j|g, say $ 771.08.
The Treasurer also exhibits to us evidence of the following property
belonging to the Institution : —

9 Shares in New England Bank, . . % 900.00

83 " State Bank, . . . 4,980.00

20 " Tremont Bank, . . . 1,975.00

5 " Tremont Bank (new stock), . 500.00

16 " Columbian Bank, . . . 1,600.00
35 " Atlas Bank, .... 3,368.75
25 " Concord Railroad, . . . 1,250.00
10 " Boston and Providence Railroad, 900.00

2 Certificates City of Boston Water Scrip, . 2,000.00

$ 17,473.75

TREASURER'S REPORT FOR 1853.

Account ivith T. B. Wales, Treasurer.

By Balance on hand, Jan. 1, 1853,
" Annual Appropriation from State of Massachusetts,
" Amount received from State of Rhode Island, .
" " " " " Connecticut,

" " " " " Vermont,

Less Collection,

" " " " State of S. Carolina,

" " _ " New Hampshire, .

Amount received from Private Pupils,
Balance Miss Tufts's Legacy, .

Amount received from Visitors,
Dividends on Stocky, . .

By sale of old materials by Steward, .
Sale of Books and Apparatus to other Institutions, .
Balance of Girls' Fancy-wor>k,

Cr.

$ 1,030.73

9,000.00

1,049.00

712.00

800.00
1.00

Errors excepted.
(Signed,)
Boston, Dec. 31, 1853.

— 799.00

851.46

450.00

249.50

100.00

20.20

1,190.35

8.25

130.10

8.12

$ 15,598.71

T. B. Wales, Treasurer.

Amount brought up, .....

Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased June, 1844, $ 755.68
Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased March, 1847, 5,000.00
Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased Sept., 1848, 5,500.00
Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased Jan., 1850, 1,762.50
Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased July, 1850, , 1,020.25

$ 17,473.75

• 14,038.43
$31,512.18

Joseph N. Howe,
James Lodge,

Committee.

APPENDIX B.

CONVENTION OF SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS OF
INSTITUTIONS FOR THE INSTRUCTION OF THE BLIND.

This Convention was held on the 16th, 17th, and 18th of August,
at the New York Institution for the Blind, and was called to order
by Win. Chapin, Esq., of Philadelphia, who nominated T. Colden
Cooper, Superintendent of the New York Institution, as Chairman
pro tern., and James S. Brown, Esq., of Louisiana, as Secretary.

All Superintendents of Institutions for the Blind, and Teachers of
the Blind in such Institutions, were declared entitled to seats in this
Convention.

The following gentlemen were then appointed the permanent
officers of the Convention : — President, S. G. Howe ; Secretary,
T. Colden Cooper.

The delegates present were S. G. Howe, Director Perkins Insti-
tution, Mass. ; William Chapin, Principal Pennsylvania Institution ;
T. Colden Cooper, Superintendent New York Institution ; R. E.
Hart, Superintendent Ohio Institution ; Dr. I. Rhoades, Superin-
tendent Illinois Institution ; Dr. Merillat, Superintendent Virginia
Institution ; J. M. Sturtevant, Superintendent Tennessee Institution ;
W. H. Churchman, Superintendent Indiana Institution ; C. B.
Woodruff, Superintendent Wisconsin Institution ; J. S. Brown, Su-
perintendent Louisiana Institution ; Samuel Bacon, Principal Iowa
Asylum ; Henry Dutton, Principal Georgia Institution ; David
Loughery, Principal Maryland Institution ; Edward Wheelan, Su-
perintendent Missouri Institution ; B. W. Fay, Teacher Indiana
Institution ; A. Reiff, Teacher New York Institution ; J. W. Bligh,
Teacher New York Institution.

Invitations were extended to Messrs. Russ, Jones, and Chamber-
lain, former Superintendents of the New York Institution for the
Blind, to attend the meetings of the Convention, and to share its
deliberations.

A resolution was also passed inviting the managers or the New
York Institution for the Blind, and Mr. E. W. H. Ellis, Trustee of
the Indiana Institute, to attend the sittings of this Convention.

On taking the chair, Dr. Howe addressed the Convention as
follows : —

" Gentlemen : I accept with readiness the place and the duty
which your vote assigns to me.

" It is pleasant to meet so many delegates from so many In-
stitutions for the Blind. Here are delegates from Institutions in
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee, In-
diana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Louisiana, beside New York and
Massachusetts. But this is not all, for many of the States give gen-
erous support to these Institutions, and send to them pupils. When
we consider this fact, and look upon this Convention, we have
assurance, if indeed any were needed, that the cause of the edu-
cation of the Blind can never fail in this country for want of public
favor or of ardent and able promoters.

" The sight of such a Convention is, moreover, surprising as
well as pleasant, for it seems but yesterday (though it is really
more than twenty years) that I undertook to organize and put in
operation an Institution which had been incorporated four years
before in Massachusetts, and I then looked around the country in
vain for some one practically acquainted with the subject. There
was not then upon this continent a school for the blind, a teacher
of the blind, or even a blind person who had been taught by
one. I had but an imperfect knowledge of the European schools,
and supposed, therefore, that I should gain time, and start with
greater chance of success, in what was regarded by many as a
visionary enterprise, by going to Europe for teachers and for actual
knowledge of all that had been done there.

" I went, therefore, saw what little there was to be seen of
schools for the blind, and soon returned, bringing a teacher of the
intellectual branches from France, and of the mechanical branches
from Scotland. Meantime my old friend and companion, Dr.
Russ, had been laying the foundations of the noble Institution in
which we are now assembled, and Mr. Friedlander had come
from Europe and been urging the inhabitants of Philadelphia to
give him an opportunity of showing his skill in the art of teaching
the blind, which he had so successfully practised in Germany.

" Dr. Russ has long since turned to another field of philanthropy,

in which he still labors with zeal and ability ; and Friedlander, hav-
ing successfully finished his work on earth, has gone to receive in
heaven the welcome of Well done, good and faithful servant !, All
three were thus successful. But, gentlemen, had we all failed in
the first attempt, had we all died out of the world, still the work
would have gone on, and to-morrow, if not to-day, the many beau-
tiful and flourishing institutions for the blind that now adorn our
country would be in existence. God does not leave the fulfilment
of his purposes dependent upon such frail contingencies as the life
of one man, or of many men. Wherever he suffers an infirmity
on an evil to exist, he sows broadcast over the earth in all human
hearts the seeds of benevolence, which in due season spring up
and bear fruits of beneficence. Hence the simultaneousness of
great discoveries, — whether of means for promoting material good
or for lessening physical evil ; — the seeds are everywhere, and as
soon as the necessary combination of influences arrives, they ger-
minate. In this case they have done so abundantly, perhaps more
abundantly here than would have been possible elsewhere. It is
nearly fourscore years since the venerable Haiiy, amid the prevail-
ing storm of human passions, planted in France the first seed of an
institution for the blind ; it is only a score of years since the first
seed was planted in this country, yet now we find here about as
many institutions as in all Europe.

" Hence it is that, though in 1830 we might have looked around
the country in vain for a single school for the blind, a single
teacher for the blind, or a blind person who had been taught in a
school, there are now flourishing institutions in most of the great
States, from New England to Georgia in the South, and to Wiscon-
sin in the West, — there are ardent and excellent teachers, — there
are hundreds of children under instruction, besides those who have
graduated from those schools, and who are wiser, better, and happier
men and women from having sojourned within them. And let me
say, gentlemen, though in no spirit of boasting, that our schools
for the blind compare most favorably with those of Europe ; nay,
(for why should not the truth be spoken?) our general system is
superior, and some of our schools rank at least equal with the best
that can be found abroad. One might say even more, for it is
strictly true, that, though this country owes to Europe the first
thought of the systematic instruction of the blind, and the first
practical effort to demonstrate it, she has already paid the debt with

more than compound interest by great improvement in the general
system of instruction, and by valuable improvements in the mode of
imparting it. But this is a theme upon which none of us can
dwell without danger of encouraging feelings of self-gratulation
which had better be suppressed. Let the past be nothing but the
lower stepping-stone from which we have attained our present
height in our ascent toward the yet unattained height at which
we aim.

" We may well congratulate ourselves, gentlemen, upon the pres-
ent pleasant meeting. It is the first one of the kind ever held, I
believe, in any country, but we may be sure it will not be the last.
One of the recognized and undoubted advantages of the present
over past times is the greater facility for the concentration of the
mental power of many persons upon one particular point. This
has been heretofore done by free and rapid interchange of thought
through the press. But it is not enough that there be impersonal
interchange of thought ; it is found that every department of knowl-
edge and science may be enlarged and explored with greater
advantage when those engaged in it can meet face to face, and
' magnetize ' and animate each other by personal intercourse.

" We see that doctors, who had pored alone over osteology, or
neurology, a score of years, — until they thought they knew the
metes and bounds of every foramen, the fibres and fibrillar of every
nerve, as well as they knew the shape of their own fingers, —
go home from their annual conventions, and take up the dry
bones of their skeletons with a feeling that, after all, they had not
learned half of what is to be learned.

" The pursuit of any literary calling in solitude almost surely
makes pedants and dullards. The country schoolmaster, doctor,
or minister, who mingles not with others of his craft, is very apt to
become a conceited pedant, and to consider himself as at the Ultima
Thule of his profession. The little circle in which he lives looks
up to him as a great man ; and he looks down upon it as though it
were the world. But attendance upon a great convention of mem-
bers of his profession takes much of this nonsense out of him, if
indeed he has not become so fossilized that nothing but nonsense
is left within him.

" But if it be useful and necessary for persons of other callings and
professions to meet together in order to take out nonsense and put

good sense into each other, it is most particularly so for us. The
doctor, lawyer, clergyman, and schoolmaster may readily commune
with others of the like calling in the daily walks of life ; but not so
with us. We live widely apart, — at the nearest, in contiguous
States. It is therefore not only pleasant, but it may be highly prof-
itable to ourselves, and to those for whose good we ought to devote
our time and thought, that we meet together. I hail this Conven-
tion, therefore, with great pleasure, and regard it with great
respect.

" Among the advantages of a Convention like this will be, apart
from the pleasure of personal knowledge and personal intercourse,
a careful consideration of what are our duties to the public, whose
agents we are, and to the class of persons for whose benefit we
hold our offices, and for whose happiness and welfare we are, in a
great measure, responsible. Our duties to the public and to the
blind are not antagonistic, but on the contrary a wise performance
of the one favors the performance of the other.

" Our duties to the public are manifold. The communities in
which we live, recognizing the right of all the young to an educa-
tion at the hands of the public, and finding that the young blind
cannot be taught in common schools, have established institutions
for their especial benefit. Over these institutions we preside, and
in them we take part. We are to see that these are administered
humanely and economically. We are to see that, so far as is
possible, the instruction and the training shall be such as will tend
to improve and elevate the whole morally and intellectually, — to
enable the greatest possible number to support themselves, — to
lessen the number of those who must continue for life a charge
upon the public, and to diminish the expense of their maintenance
by enabling them to do something for themselves. This is es-
pecially true of the large proportion of indigent blind. The chil-
dren of wealthy parents are likely to be provided for by them.

" But our duty to the public does not end here. We are not only
to consider individual blind persons, but the whole subject of blind-
ness, in its phenomenal aspect, as part of the natural history of
man. We find in every country, and among every variety of the
human race, a certain, though a varying, number of the population
who are born blind, or who become blind. Blindness, then, is and
has heretofore been one of the phenomena in the natural history of

human development ; whether it be an inherent and permanent one
is another question.

" Now, it is not only very interesting, but it is very important, to
ascertain the phenomenal laws of blindness. Is it from an inherent
defect in the organic constitution of the human race that so many
of its members in every generation suffer under infirmity ? Our
faith in the goodness and the omnipotence of the Creator forbids
us to believe this. Is it, then, that all races of men have gone out
of the way, or have never yet got into the true way of life ? Is it
in consequence of imperfect civilization, imperfect knowledge of
the laws of life, and imperfect obedience even to those that are
known, that so many lack an important sense, and thus fall short
of the normal standard of health ?

" Surely natural reverence for our Creator, and the natural
confidence that everything which comes from his hand is either
perfect in itself or contains within itself the tendencies and the
capacities for attaining perfection, must lead us to this latter con-
clusion. I believe, moreover, that the limited observations that
have been made and recorded go to confirm it. If this be so, then
we are to conclude that blindness is not an inherent, but an inci-
dental, defect in the human organization.

" If others of this Convention are of the same mind, then they
will agree with me that one important duty which we owe to the
public is to institute minute and extensive inquiries into all the phe-
nomena attendant upon blindness, so that by collecting and com-
paring them we may ascertain the laws that regulate the increase
or the decrease of the infirmity, and its greater or less prevalence
in the community.

" That such laws exist, I, for my own part, have no manner of
doubt. Not only do the numerous analogies in the natural history
of domestic animals — the propagation of certain physical pecu-
liarities, the eradication of certain defects, and a hundred similar
facts — all lead to this conclusion ; but close observation of men
and families confirms it.

" There are persons among whose offspring the chance that
some will have imperfect sight would seem to be at least as one
to a hundred ; while there are others, among whose offspring the
chance of the occurrence of such infirmity is so small as hardly
to be appreciable, certainly not as one to ten thousand.
4

" Nor is this true alone of the chance of children being lorn
blind. There are families in which all the children are born with
apparently good sight, but the probability of some of them becom-
ing blind is tenfold greater than is the probability that blindness
will occur among the children of another family, who are never-
theless to be exposed to the same accidents. I have known more
than one person whose ancestral antecedents were such, that, when
I have heard of his becoming blind, I have not wondered so much
at the fact, as at the lateness of its occurrence.

" These things being so, they clearly point out a duty we owe to
the public, not only so to administer our several institutions as that
the pupils shall reverence and obey the natural laws which regulate
the increase and decrease of blindness, but also to render these laws
widely known in the community ; and I trust that no squeamishness
and no morbid sentimentality may restrain us. We are not only
to care for such of the blind as be, but we are to see that there be
as few of them as possible to be cared for.

" Call me Utopian, or call me what you may, I believe, as I be-
lieve in the wisdom and benevolence of the Creator, that a commu-
nity may so live in obedience to his laws, that, after a few genera-
tions, blindness, deafness, insanity, and other infirmities, (save as
the result of accidental violence,) would not appear in it. They
would be known only as existing among ' outside barbarians ' who
might call themselves civilized, but who would continue to build
vast asylums for those unfortunates who ought to be considered as
living and suffering proofs of the ignorance or sin of the com-
munity which produces them.

" But while believing in the possible physical perfection of a
community, and the possible eradication of blindness and other in-
firmities, one must keep in view the actual imperfection of civiliza-
tion, and the present and prospective prevalence of blindness. We
have our duty to the blind, as well as to the public ; — to the blind
as a class, and as individuals. We are to see that, as a class, they
understand their rights, and that others know and respect them. It
is in no manner their fault that they are blind ; the fault is in the
community, — in others ; the misfortune alone, and the consequent
sufferings, alas ! are theirs. They are not mere objects of pity,
and of cold charity ; they have claims upon the sympathy and upon
the justice of the community. We are to demand for them, at the

hands of the public, a full participation in the benefit of education,
not as a matter of charity, but as matter of right. In one sense it
is the community that makes them blind ; let the community re-
dress the wrong as far as it can, by giving them mental light.

" A school for the blind is no more an object of charity than a
school for those who see. The state admits the right of every
child to instruction at the public charge ; and if there be children
who cannot be taught in common schools, let the state build an
uncommon one for their benefit. Our institutions are only uncom-
mon schools. They ought not to be considered charity schools.
The blind ought not to be considered charity scholars more than
the others.

" But beside the right of the blind child to instruction, the blind
man has a right to the means of labor, and to a living by the results
of his labor. If the ordinary labor provided by the community
cannot be done by him, let special means of labor be found for
him. The blind man has stood hat in hand too long already.
He has stood by the way-side, where Bartimseus stood eighteen
centuries ago, and probably as many centuries before the day of
that worthy and all-believing beggar of Jericho, and has asked
alms ; — let us teach him that he may put on his hat, and ask
justice and work.

" We are to lift up the down-fallen. We are to teach the blind to
know and to respect themselves, as the certain way of being re-
spected by others. But while encouraging the blind, and inspiring
them with self-respect, we are to avoid running into an extreme,
and unduly exciting their self-esteem. In this, as in everything
else, we should look to and rely upon the truth, sure that, however
disagreeable it may seem at first, it will prove more beautiful in the
end than the most agreeable form of untruth. Their outward sight
is sealed, — let their inward sight be trained to see and love only
the pure light of truth. We should let them understand, that, in
spite of all compensations, — in spite of all quickening of other
senses, — in spite of all the aids and advantages they may have, —
they still suffer under an infirmity so grievous in its nature, so im-
portant in its effects, both moral and physical, that they must ever
be placed at great disadvantage in the struggle of life.

" It is not only true, that, as a general rule, the lack or the loss
of sight is an outward sign of inward bodily weakness or disorder

28 •

affecting the whole system, — in a word, of defect or inferiority of
physical organization ; but it is, moreover, true, that it is, in all
cases, an impediment, and a serious one, to the attainment of that
degree of bodily and mental vigor that the individual might other-
wise reach. There is no study, there is no calling, that a blind
man can pursue with the same success that he would do, if, with
the same efforts, he had the advantages of sight. It is either a
myth, that an old philosopher put out his eyes in order the better
to study mathematics and metaphysics, or else the man was no
philosopher, but a fool.

" Teach the blind what they lack, and in what they are inferior,
and they will be all the more likely to make up by diligence and
perseverance for their natural disadvantage. By diligence and
perseverance, as is well known to you all, the blind may make
rapid progress, and attain eminence in all branches of study, the
illustrations of which do not require the aid of light and shade.
Most of the pupils of the institutions for the blind in this country
actually receive a better intellectual education than ordinary chil-
dren in the same walk of life obtain in the common schools. This
arises in part from what is in other respects a great disadvantage,
— to wit, the lack of printed text-books, which obliges the teachers
to depend upon oral instruction.

" But, happily, in one respect, and that one of the greatest impor-
tance, the blind are at no disadvantage. I mean the capacity for
development and cultivation of the moral and affectional nature.
It needs no outward vision to see the excellence of knowledge, the
beauty of truth, the holiness of virtue.' It needs no eye to guide
the affections to the legitimate objects of love. Ajax prayed for
light to see and smite his foes ; he would have needed none to
know and love his friends.

" But, gentlemen, this subject is too important for me to enter
upon in a cursory and informal discourse. I commend it to your
serious attention as one of vital importance. You know as well as
I do how often the blind manifest moral capacities, spiritual ex-
cellences, and affectional emotions of the highest order. You, as
well as myself, must have felt that they have sometimes exchanged
positions and offices with us, and become our exemplars and teach-
ers of virtues and affections.

" For my own part, when I recall to memory some blind persons

whom I have known, and think of their cheerful resignation to
their heavy calamity, — their forgetfulness of their own misfortune
in their eagerness to lighten the misfortunes of others, — their
abiding faith, their enduring hope, their abundant charity, — I feel
that it is I who have been the gainer from the intercourse between
us. I prize humanity more highly, I reverence its Author more
devoutly, when I see that, crushed and broken by calamity, it
still exhales the odor of virtue.

" But, gentlemen, I will no longer trespass upon your attention,
or detain you from the commencement of your labors."

The Convention then proceeded to business, and discussed the
several resolutions and propositions submitted by the committee or
by individuals. An animated debate ensued, in which several
blind persons, educated in the various institutions, took prominent
parts, and gave proof of their talents and acquirements.

The following resolutions were finally adopted, as expressing
the views of the Convention.

" Resolved, That, whereas most of the States of the Union are
provided with institutions for the education of the blind, this Con-
vention representing such institutions recommend the following
resolutions : —

" Resolved, That a permanent provision in aid of the education
of the blind, and for a suitable library in the raised letters, should
be regarded as a subject of national concern.

" Resolved, That, as Congress has appropriated large portions
of the public lands for general education, from the benefits of
which the blind have been and necessarily are excluded, their
claim for a portion of the proceeds of these lands to aid in their
education is both just and reasonable.

" Resolved, That a memorial in behalf of the Institutions for the
Blind in the United States be presented to the next session of Con-
gress, asking for national aid by an appropriation of public land, —
a portion to be equitably applied to all the States for the education
of their blind, and a portion for a specific fund for printing books
in raised letters.

" Resolved, That Messrs. Howe, Chapin, Cooper, Brown, and
Churchman be a committee to prepare such memorial, previous
to the first day of January next.

" Resolved, That it will be expedient for a delegation of pupils
from several institutions to visit Washington on the presentation of
the memorial, to give public illustration of the success of the sys-
tem of instructing the Blind.

" Resolved, While this Convention would not discourage the use
of any type or character now in existence, they decidedly recom-
mend a uniform type or letter for all future publications for the
blind.

" Resolved, That the ' Boston letter,' so called, in which the
great bulk of books for the blind have been printed, be preferred
as the standard type for all future books printed for the blind, sub-
ject to the amendments proposed in the following resolution.

" Resolved, That a committee of three, including the President
of this Convention, be appointed at this meeting to examine the
' Boston letter,' to ascertain whether any alteration in any of said
letters be expedient, and if so, to recommend its general adoption.

" Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed by the
chair, to consider upon and report to the next Convention a plan
for the publication of a periodical expressly devoted to the advance-
ment of education among the blind.

" Resolved, That such committee, if they find it practicable to
procure the publication of such periodical as a private enterprise,
be authorized, in behalf of this Convention, to secure the com-
mencement of the same under their own general supervision.

" Resolved, That in the event of the commencement of such a
publication, the instructors and pupils in all existing institutions for
the blind be invited to contribute to its columns.

" Resolved, That a committee be appointed to correspond with
the 'American Bible Society,' with a view of obtaining from said
Society a copy of the New Testament and of the Psalms for every
blind person who shall present to them a certificate of the princi-
pal of the institution where he or she was educated, that he or she
can read, and is unable to pay for such book.

" Resolved, That this Convention do not approve of the recent
method of binding the Bible for the blind, by the ' Bible Society,'
which unites the leaves so as to present the printing on both sides
of the leaf, and accordingly suggest the expediency of the Bible
being bound as formerly ; and that a copy of this resolution be sent
to the officers of the Bible Society."

Messrs. Wheelan, Churchman, and Sturtevant presented a re-
port upon Mr. Mahony's system of musical notation, which, after
some debate, was adopted by the Convention.

" Resolved, That this Convention recommend to the various In-
stitutions for the Blind, and to all blind persons interested in the
subject of music, the new system of notation devised by Mr. Ma-
hony, as possessing many advantages.

" Resolved, That Mr. Mahony merits the encouragement of this
Convention in his laudable efforts to supply this desideratum in the
education of the blind."

The question of discipline in schools for the blind was dis-
cussed at some length, and it was remarkable that all the speakers
who were blind insisted that blind children should be subjected to
an equally strict discipline with seeing children. It was finally

" Resolved, That the fact of blindness should make no differ-
ence in the discipline of children."

A highly interesting debate followed on the necessity of con-
necting manufacturing departments with all institutions for the
blind, and it was

" Resolved, That, in the opinion of this Convention, every insti-
tution should offer employment to all its graduates of good moral
character."

It was then resolved, that a committee be appointed to call an-
other Convention of Superintendents and Teachers of the Blind,
and that in such Convention each institution shall be entitled to but
one vote.

Mr. Churchman was invited to furnish to the next Convention an
essay upon the best plan of public buildings for the Blind.

The thanks of the Convention were then offered to the Directors,
Superintendents, and other officers of the New York Institution for
the Blind, for the hospitalities tendered and courtesies shown the
members of this Convention during its session.

LIST OF BOOKS

PRINTED AT THE

PERKINS INSTITUTION AND MASSACHUSETTS
ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

WITH PRICES OF SUCH AS ARE FOR SALE.

No. of
Volumes.

Lardner's Universal History, .
Howe's Geography,

" Atlas of the Islands, .
English Reader, First Part,

" " Second Part, .

The Harvey Boys,
The Pilgrim's Progress, .
Baxter's Call,
English Grammar, .
Life of Melancthon,
Constitution of the United States,
Book of Diagrams,
Viri Romae, ....
Peirce's Geometry, with Diagrams
Political Class-Book,
First Table of Logarithms, .
Second " " .

Principles of Arithmetic,
Astronomical Dictionary,
Philosophy of Natural History,
Rudiments of Natural Philosophy,
Cyclopaedia, ....
The Book of Common Prayer,
Guide to Devotion,
New Testament (Small), .
New " (Large),
Old " ...

Book of Psalms,

" Proverbs,
Psalms in Verse,
Psalms and Hymns,
The Dairyman's Daughter, .
" Spelling-Book
" Sixpenny Glass of Wine,
Howe's Blind Child's Manual,

" " " First Book,

« " " Second Book,

Total number,

Price per
Volume.

$3.00
3.00
2.50
3.00
3.00
1.00
2.50
1.50
1.00
1.50
1.50
1.50
2.00
2.00
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.00
1.50
3.00
3.00
3.00

1.00
1.00

TERMS OF ADMISSION

Young blind persons, of good moral character, can be admitted
to the School by paying $ 160 per annum. This sum covers all
expenses, except for clothing ; namely, board, washing, medicines,
the use of books, musical instruments, &c. The pupils must fur-
nish their own clothing, and pay their own fares to and from the
Institution.

There is a vacation in the Spring, and another in the Autumn.
The friends of the pupils can visit them whenever they choose.

Indigent blind persons, of suitable age and character, belonging
to Massachusetts, can be admitted gratuitously, by application to
the Governor for a warrant.

The following is a good form, though any other will do : —

" To his Excellency the Governor : —

" Sir, — My son, (or daughter, or nephew, or niece, as the case
may be,) named A. B., and aged , cannot be instructed in the
common schools for want of sight. I am unable to pay for the
tuition at the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the
Blind, and I request that your Excellency will grant a warrant for
free admission.

" Very respectfully, ."

The application may be made by any relation or friend, if the
parents are dead or absent.

It should be accompanied by a certificate from one or more of
the Selectmen of the town, or Aldermen of the city, in this form : —

" I hereby certify, that, in my opinion, Mr. is not a

wealthy person, and that he cannot afford to pay $ 160 per annum
for his child's instruction.

(Signed,) " ."

There should also be a certificate, signed by some regular phy-
sician, in this form : —
5

" I certify, that, in my opinion, has not sufficient

vision to be taught in common schools ; and that he is free from
epilepsy, and from any contagious disease.

(Signed,) " ."

These papers should be done up together, and directed to " The
Secretary of State, State-House, Boston, Mass."

An obligation will be required from some responsible person,
that the pupil shall be removed without expense to the Institution,
whenever it may be desirable to discharge him.

The usual period of tuition is from five to seven years.

Indigent blind persons residing in Maine, New Hampshire, Ver-
mont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and South Carolina, by applying
as above to the " Commissioners for the Blind," care of the Sec-
retary of State in the respective States, can obtain warrants of free
admission.

For further particulars, address Dr. S. G. Howe, Director of the
Institution for the Blind, Boston, Mass.

The relations or friends of the blind who may be sent to the In-
stitution are requested to furnish information in answer to the fol-
lowing questions : —

1. What is the age of the applicant ?

2. Where was he born ?

3. Was he born blind ?

4. If not born blind, at what age did he become so ?

5. What is the supposed cause of the blindness ?

6. Have there been any cases of blindness, or deafness, or in-
sanity, in the family of the applicant, among his brothers and sis-
ters, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, or cousins ?

7. Were his parents or grandparents affected with scrofula, in
any form ; with consumption ; humors, such as salt-rheum ; erup-
tions of any kind ; or had they any peculiarity of bodily constitu-
tion whatever ?

8. Were the parents or the grandparents of the applicant related
to each other by blood ? If so, in what degree ?

OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION,

FOR 1854.

PRESIDENT.

RICHARD FLETCHER.

VICE-PRESIDENT.

STEPHEN FAIRBANKS.

TREASURER.

T. B. WALES, Jr.

SECRETARY.

SAMUEL G. HOWE.

TRUSTEES.

THOMAS G. CARY, )

THEOPHILUS P. CHANDLER, |
GEORGE B. EMERSON, r 7 7 1fnfthi,

JOSEPH LYMAN, ^VortfJon

SAMUEL MAY, corporation.

GEORGE R. RUSSELL,

G. HOWLAND SHAW, J

The Board of Visitors, consisting of the Governor,
Lieutenant-Governor, President of the Senate, Speak-
er of the House, &c., have appointed

THOMAS T. BOUVE,
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS,
EDWARD JARVIS,
W. D. TICKNOR,

► Trustees in behalf of the State.

BY-LAWS, RULES, AND REGULATIONS

NEW ENGLAND INSTITUTION

EDUCATION OF THE BLIND.

INCORPORATED 1839.

NOW KNOWN AS THE

PERKINS INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND.

SECOND EDITION.

CAMBRIDGE:
METCALF AND COMPANY

PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY.

1854.

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.

In the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Twenty-nine.

Aii Act, to incorporate the New-England Asylum for the

Blind.*

Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the
same, That Jonathan Phillips, William Prescott, Isaac Parker,
William B. Calhoun, Israel Thorndike, Jr., Thomas H. Perkins,
William Sullivan, William Parsons, Robert Rantoul, Theodore
Sedgwick, Stephen C. Phillips, Richard D. Tucker, John Welles,
Samuel T. Armstrong, Thomas Kendall, John Tappan, William
Appleton, Samuel A. Eliot, Stephen White, James Savage, Amos
Lawrence, Abbott Lawrence, Josiah J. Fiske, George Bond, Ed-
ward Brooks, William Thorndike, John Homans, James C. Mer-
rill, Franklin Dexter, John C. Gray, William H. Prescott, Bradford
Sumner, Benjamin S. Pickman, John D. Fisher, Isaac L. Hedge,
William P. Mason, John Lowell, Jr., Charles M. Owen, Thomas
A. Greene, together with such other persons as may be admitted
members of the Corporation hereinafter created, according to the
by-laws thereof, be, and they hereby are, incorporated by the
name of the New England Asylum for the Blind, for the purpose
of educating blind persons.

Sec 2. Be it further enacted, That the said Corporation may
take, receive and hold, purchase and possess, any grants and de-
vises of lands and tenements, in fee simple, or otherwise, and any
donations, bequests, and subscriptions of money, or other property,
to be used for the erection, support, and maintenance of an Asylum

* The name was changed to that of the New England Institution for the
Education of the Blind.

for blind persons. Provided, that the income of said Corporation,
from its real and personal estates together, shall not, at any time,
exceed the sum of thirty thousand dollars.

Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, That the Legislature of this Com-
monwealth, or any committee or officer duly appointed by them
for that purpose, may, from time to time, send to the said Asylum,
for maintenance and education, such blind persons as they may
think proper, which persons so sent shall be admitted to all the
privileges, and be subject to all the rules and regulations, of the
said Asylum. Provided, that the whole number of blind persons
so maintained and educated at said Asylum, under the authority of
the Legislature of this Commonwealth, shall at no one time exceed
thirty.

Sec 4. Be it further enacted, That the said Asylum shall be
under the direction and management of twelve Trustees who shall
be chosen annually, and shall remain in office until others are
chosen and qualified in their stead ; four of which Trustees shall
be chosen by the Board of Visitors hereinafter mentioned, and the
remaining eight by the Corporation aforesaid.

Sec 5. Be it further enacted, That the said Corporation may,
at their first or any subsequent meeting, choose all necessary and
convenient officers, who shall have such powers and authorities as
the said Corporation may think proper to prescribe and grant to
them, and shall be elected in such manner and for such periods of
time as the by-laws of said Corporation may direct. And the said
Corporation may make and establish such by-laws and regulations
for the internal government and economy of said Asylum, as they
may think proper, provided the same are not repugnant to the
laws and Constitution of this Commonwealth.

Sec 6. Be it further enacted, That the Governor and Lieu-
tenant-Governor, the President of the Senate, and Speaker of the
House of Representatives, with the Chaplains of the Legislature,
for the time being, be, and they hereby are, made and constituted
a Board of Visitors of the said Asylum, with authority to visit the
same semiannually, and as much oftener as they may think prop-
er, in order to inspect the establishment, and to examine the by-
laws and regulations enacted by said Corporation, and generally to
see that the object of the said Institution is carried into effect.

Sec 7. Be it further enacted, That there shall be paid out of

the Treasury of this Commonwealth, to the said Corporation, for
the maintenance and education of each blind person sent to the said
Asylum, under the authority of the Legislature, the same compen-
sation as, by the by-laws of said Corporation, may be demanded
and is actually received for the maintenance and education of such
other blind persons as are at that time residing in said Asylum.
And the Governor of this Commonwealth, for the time being, is
hereby authorized, by and with the advice of the Council, from
time to time to draw his warrant on the Treasurer for such sums of
money as shall appear, from a certificate under the hands of the four
Trustees appointed by the Board of Visitors as aforesaid, to be the
true amount then due to the said Corporation from the Common-
wealth, for the maintenance and education of such persons.*

Sec. 8. Be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the
said Corporation, at any general meeting of the members thereof,
to alter and change the name of said Corporation, and to substitute
therefor such other name as they may deem expedient. And upon
such change, so as aforesaid made, the said Coi'poration shall have,
hold, and enjoy all the powers and privileges given by this Act,
notwith standi no: such alteration and chancre of name.

Sec. 9. Be it further enacted, That Jonathan Phillips is hereby
authorized to call the first meeting of said Corporation, by causing
a notification thereof to be published three weeks successively in
any three of the newspapers printed in the city of Boston.

* By a subsequent act, the sum of $ 9,000 per annum is appropriated by thev
State towards the support of the Institution.

BY-LAWS.

ARTICLE I.

The Corporation shall be composed of the persons named in
" An Act to incorporate the New-England Asylum for the Blind " ;
of such persons as may be at any legal meeting elected members
by ballot ; of such persons as have been at any time appointed
members in behalf of the State ; and also of all such persons as
shall pay the sum of twenty-five dollars or upwards.

ARTICLE II.

There shall be an annual meeting of the Corporation on the sec-
ond Monday of January in every year, for the purpose of electing
officers of the Institution, at which meeting the following officers
shall be chosen by ballot, namely : — A President, a Vice-Presi-
dent, Eight Trustees, a Treasurer, and a Secretary, to serve until
the next annual meeting, and until others are chosen and qualified
in their stead : Provided, however, that if, from any cause, the of-
ficers should not be elected at the annual meeting, they may be
elected, or any vacancy filled, at any other meeting regularly no-
tified for the purpose.

ARTICLE III.

Notice of the annual meeting shall be given, by the Secretary,
in one or more of the newspapers printed in Boston, at least seven
days previous to the day of meeting.

ARTICLE IV.

The President, or, in his absence, the Vice-President, shall pre-
side at all meetings of the Corporation.

ARTICLE V.

The Secretary shall call a special meeting of the Corporation
on the requisition of the Board of Trustees, or of any ten mem-
bers of the Corporation, — notice being given as for the annual
meeting.

ARTICLE VI.

It shall be the duty of the Board of Trustees, three of whom
shall form a quorum, to meet at least as often as once in each
month. They shall have power to take any measures which they
may deem expedient, for encouraging subscriptions, donations, and
bequests to the Corporation ; to take charge of all the interests and
concerns of the Asylum ; to enter into and bind the Corporation by
such compacts and engagements as they may deem advantageous ;
to appoint a Director, and, through him, all necessary officers and
assistants, with such compensation as they may deem proper ; to
make such rules and regulations, for their own government and
that of the Asylum, and not inconsistent with these By-Laws, as
may to them appear reasonable and proper, subject, however, to
be altered or annulled by the Corporation. They shall cause a
fair record to be kept of all their doings, which shall be laid before
the Coi'poration at every meeting thereof ; and at every annual
meeting they shall make a report in writing on the Treasurer's
accounts, and on the general state of the Institution ; comprising a
statement of the number of persons received into and discharged
from the same, the employment of the pupils, and an inventory of
all the real and personal estate of the Corporation.

ARTICLE VII.

It shall be the duty of the Secretary to notify and attend all
meetings of the Corporation, and to keep a fair record of their do-
ings. It shall, moreover, be his duty to furnish the Treasurer a
copy of all votes of the Corporation or of the Trustees, respecting
the payment of moneys by him.

ARTICLE VIII.

It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to receive and have the
custody of all moneys and securities belonging to the Corporation,
which he shall keep and manage under the direction of the Trus-
tees. He shall pay no moneys but by their order, or the order of

their committees, duly authorized. It shall be the duty of the
Treasurer to receive and have the custody of all moneys and secu-
rities belonging to the Corporation, which he shall keep and man-
age, under the direction of the Trustees. He shall pay no moneys
but by their order, or the order of their committee, duly author-
ized. His books shall be open to the inspection of the Trustees.
He shall make up his account to the first day of January, in each
year, together with an inventory of all the real and personal estate,
and of the debts due to and from the Corporation ; and he shall
give such bonds for the faithful discharge of his duties, as the
Trustees shall, from time to time, require.

ARTICLE IX.

These By-Laws may be altered at any meeting of the Corpora-
tion : Provided, that public notice of an intended change is given
one week previous to such meeting, and that two thirds of the
members present approve the alteration.

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE
TRUSTEES.

A meeting of the Trustees shall be held monthly.

The presence of three members shall constitute a quorum.

VISITING COMMITTEE.

Some one of the Trustees shall visit the Institution as often as
twice in each month, in the capacity of Visiting Committee.

This Committee may examine the state of the Institution ; the
progress, &c. of the pupils; and receive and examine any re-
ports of the Director.

This Committee may report on the state and condition of the In-
stitution at any monthly meeting of the Trustees.

AUDITORS OF ACCOUNTS.

Two of the Trustees shall be appointed annually as Auditors
of Accounts, and the Treasurer shall pay no money except upon
their order.

DIRECTOR.

The Director shall appoint all Teachers and Assistants, subject
to the approval of the Trustees.

It shall be the duty of the Director to be in daily attendance at
the Institution ; he shall direct the course of studies to be pursued
in the school ; the work to be done in the shop, &c.

He shall cause an account to be kept of the articles fabricated,
and of the sale of the same.

He shall lay before the Trustees, at each monthly meeting, a re-
port of the state of the Institution, and such account to the Visiting
Committee as may be required.

He shall cause an account current of the sales and expenditures
of the workshop and sales-room to be kept, and shall submit the
same to the Trustees or Visiting Committee whenever required.

He shall direct a quarterly examination, at which any of the
Trustees may be present.

He shall prepare the Annual Report of the Institution, to be pre-
sented to the Visiting Committee for revision, previous to being laid
before the Trustees to act thereon.

The teachers, assistants, workmen, and pupils shall be under the
immediate direction of the Director ; and no orders shall be given
to them except through him.

ADMISSION OF BENEFICIARIES.

Candidates for admission must be over eight, and under fourteen
years of age, and none others shall be admitted except in special
cases.

They should produce certificates of incurable blindness from
some respectable physician of regular standing. They must be
free from any epileptic or contagious disorder, and from any physi-
cal affliction that would render them unfit inmates with others.

Beneficiaries should produce a certificate from the selectmen or
the overseers of the poor of their town, stating that their parents
and immediate relatives are unable to defray the expenses of their
education.

They must produce a satisfactory evidence of good moral char-
acter whenever it is required.

They must be provided with a sufficient stock of decent and
comfortable clothing.

The clothing must be renewed from time to time, as may be ne-
cessary, by the parents ; anything more than common mending
will not be done at the expense of the Institution.

All the articles of clothing must be marked with the name of
the owner, at full length.

ADMISSION OF PUPILS NOT BENEFICIARIES.

Any blind persons of proper age and qualifications may be ad-
mitted to the Institution, at the discretion of the Director. They
shall pay at least sixteen dollars per month, one quarter in ad-
vance, or give sufficient security therefor.

This sum will cover all the expenses of board and ordinary
tuition.

INSTRUCTION.

The pupils will be taught reading, writing, arithmetic, algebra,
geography, history, physiology, and such other subjects as are
taught in the best common schools ; beside vocal and instrumental
music.

They will be required to observe strictly all the rules and regu-
lations of the Institution.

No one can absent himself from the Institution without the per-
mission of the Director ; nor from the school-room, without his
consent, or that of the instructor.

The hours for work, for study, and for recreation being estab-
lished by rule, each pupil will be expected to conform strictly to
them.

All will be expected to attend Divine service on the Sabbath ;
but each may select his own place of worship, — provided he fur-
nishes himself with a guide.

The Rules and Regulations of the Trustees may be altered by
the Trustees at any regular meeting of the Board, provided that
notice has been given of the proposed change at the preceding
regular meeting, and provided that every member not present at
such preceding meeting shall have written notice of the same.

SENATE....No. 37.

<£oMWOtt&)£3lti) of M%®8%t$umuu.

Executive Department, )

Council Chamber, February 8, 1855. )

To the President of the Senate : —

I herewith transmit, for the use of the Legislature, the
Annual Report of the Trustees of the Perkins' Institution,
and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind.

HENRY J. GARDNER.

Hvn<7

ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Feb.

Perkins1 Institution, and Massachusetts
Asylum for the Blind.

Boston, February 6, 1855.
His Excellency the Governor : —

Sir: — I have the honor to enclose the Report of the Trus-
tees of this Institution for the year 1854.

It will be seen that the conditions of the grant from the
State have been fulfilled on the part of the Institution, by the
reception of a greater number of indigent blind persons than
is required by the law.

Indeed, all who present themselves are freely received, pro-
vided they are of the proper age and character.

There are, in all, seventy-two indigent blind persons belong-
ing to Massachusetts connected with the establishment. Of
these, forty-nine are connected with the Junior Department ;
the others are adults, and employed in the Work Depart-
ment.

The Report of the Trustees, and other documents, hereto
appended, will furnish more minute information about the
concerns of the Institution.

Respectfully,

S. G. HOWE.

1855.] SENATE— No. 37.

Perkins' Institution, and Massachusetts >
Asylum for the Blind. )

Boston, January 3, 1855.
To the Corporation : —

Gentlemen: — The undersigned, Trustees, respectfully sub-
mit their Annual Report, as follows : —

The year just closed has been, with the institution and its
concerns, one of general health and prosperity.

There has been about the average number of inmates in the
school and in the work department.

The usual course of instruction and training has been pur-
sued in the school, and the result is satisfactory. The work
department for adults has been conducted upon the same plan
as during previous years, and about the same amount of
business transacted.

It is to be regretted, however, that the institution has not
sufficient funds to extend the benefits of this industrial estab-
lishment to a greater number of persons, since there are so
many who need them. A committee has been appointed to
bring this matter before the legislature and to seek further'
pecuniary aid from the State.

The trustees earnestly commend the industrial department
to the corporation and to the public, as a plan of charity which
is very simple ; which yields a large return of good for a small
investment of money; and which is as little liable to abuse
and to objections as any plan of public beneficence can well
be.

It is desirable, however, that more pecuniary means should
be at the disposal of the trustees, in order to extend the oper-
ations of this agency of public beneficence.

This is not generally known. The institution bears the

4 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Feb.

name of a man noted for his wealth and his munificence, and
enjoys the patronage of a State noted for its ability and dis-
position to support establishments of instruction and charity.
It is supposed, therefore, to be rich. But it is not so. It
has not even the advantage sometimes accruing to an individ-
ual, from being supposed to possess wealth; but, on the con-
trary, its having the name may prevent its having the thing.
Aside from its real estate, (all of which is needed for actual use,)
the institution has not funds enough to pay an annual income
of much over one thousand dollars. It is entirely dependent
upon the yearly appropriation from the State. This, with its'
small income from paying pupils, and other sources, barely
suffices for yearly expenses in the immediate duty of instruct-
ing and training the young blind. For the means of extending
its usefulness, — for printing books for the blind generally, — for
aiding adult blind, and for other general purposes of beneficence
to this class of the unfortunates, the institution must rely upon
a share of that material encouragement which individuals in
this community so liberally bestow upon these institutions of
public charity, which possess their confidence.

The claim against the city of Boston for damages caused
by altering grades of streets, mentioned in the last Report, has
been allowed by the authorities, and ten thousand dollars paid
into the treasury. This, however, does not really increase the
funds of the institution, because nearly as much has been ex-
pended in work, fences and buildings, made necessary by the
alterations in grades, and the balance will have to be expended
before the repairs are completed.

Besides, the city authorities insisted, as a condition of pay-
ment of the claim for damages, that their charge for laying
common sewers and sidewalks should be allowed. The
charge for common sewers was paid without much reluctance,
because the institution was in some sense directly and specially
benefited thereby ; but the charge for sidewalks was paid most
reluctantly, because it seemed an unjust one.

This is a matter in which the institution has still an interest,
because there are other sidewalks to be laid, and large charge
may be made therefor.

There is, for instance, the lot upon which the workshop now

1855.] SENATE— No. 37. 5

stands, containing about 20,000 feet of land, the situation of
which will show how severe this charge may be.

This lot has 500 feet frontage on the street.

The sidewalks are laid 13 feet wide, so that 6,500 square
feet of sidewalk must be laid for these 20,000 feet of land ; and
the cost for this lot alone comes to about one thousand dollars,
which is fully equal to ten per cent, on the market value of the
land.

This charge is not only enormous in amount, but it seems
unjust, and contrary to the spirit of the Constitution.

The Constitution requires that all taxes shall be equally as-
sessed. Now, names do not alter things ; and this charge for
laying sidewalks, though called an assessment, is really a tax
upon real estate ; and the question may well be raised, whether
it is not an unequal one.

The city claims and asserts ownership of the street, and the
benefits of it are for all classes of persons. It says arbitrarily
to the abutter, You shall pay for paving one-third of the street
in front of your premises ; and it might, upon the same prin-
ciple, make him pay for half, or the whole of it. Does it not,
then, lay an unequal tax upon him, since it selects him and
makes him pay for a thing in which he obtains no ownership
and no right, which other citizens who are exempted from this
tax do not obtain ? He is made to pay for the sidewalk and
to keep it in repair ; but he cannot use it any more than others
can. The city denies him any ownership therein, and fines
him if he leaves a bale of goods upon it ; though, by that sort
of contradiction which departure from plain principles is sure
to involve, it asserts, at other times, that he has an owner-
ship, and fines him if he does not clean off the snow.

It is said that his property is benefited by the sidewalk ;
but so is property of all kinds benefited ; and it is only a
question of more or less advantage.

The comfort, convenience and interest of those who do not
own a foot of real^estate are promoted, as well as his is, by a
sidewalk which is public to every body, but which he is
obliged to build and maintain at his sole expense.

A benefit should not be conferred, — surely not thrust, —
upon a man at the expense of any principle of equal right.
Besides, a man should be considered as the best judge of his

6 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Feb.

own interest, and allowed to accept or refuse what others call
benefits.

There is another ground upon which payment of this tax
(for such it really is) may be objected to by the institution ;
to wit, the provision of the law by which the real estate of
incorporated public charitable societies actually used by them
is exempted from all taxation.

The report of the treasurer, which is submitted herewith,
will show the amount of receipts and expenditures during the
year, and the amount of property belonging to the institution.
It may be remarked here that all bills and vouchers for ex-
penses are carefully audited by a committee of the trustees,
and orders are drawn by them upon the treasurer.

The various inventories of personal and real estate are here-
with submitted, according to the requirement of the law.

The report of the directors will set forth in detail the condi-
tion of the several departments.

The trustees close by commending the institution to the
corporation, the legislature, and the public, as an establishment
of public beneficence, worthy to be liberally supported and
perpetually cherished.

THOMAS T. BOUVE,
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS,
EDWARD JARVIS,
WM. D. TICKNOR.

Trustees in behalf of the Slate.

THOMAS G. GARY,
THEOPHILUS P. CHANDLER,
GEORGE B. EMERSON,
JOSEPH LYMAN,
SAMUEL MAY,
GEORGE R. RUSSELL,
G. HOWLAND SHAW,
Trustees in behalf of the Corporation.

S. G. Howe, Secretary.

1855.1 SENATE— No. 37.

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR.

To the Trustees : —

Gentlemen : — The peaceful current of the past year has not
been broken in our simple household by any event which
calls for particular notice.

Indeed, but for the requirements of law and custom, no
special Report thereupon would be necessary. Gratitude for
continued blessings and for uninterrupted prosperity would be
none the less felt though no public mention thereof were made.

As it is, the required Report must necessarily be, for the
most part, a repetition of former ones.

The school has corftinued, under the same teachers, to im-
part moral and intellectual instruction to the young blind ; to
train them up in habits of regular mental and manual labor;
to aid the due development of their capacities and characters,
and so prepare them for usefulness and happiness in after life.

The work department has continued to furnish employment,
and so give means of support, to former pupils of the school
and to other adult blind. Neither of them has attained that
degree of perfectness in its operations which is desirable, and
which must be ever aimed at without ever reaching ; but at
least no ground has been lost during the past year; on the
contrary, it is believed that something has been gained.

The number of blind persons connected with the Institution,
reported at the close of last year, was one hundred and eleven.
During the year twenty-five have entered and twenty-two have*
been discharged, leaving the present number one hundred and
fourteen ; of these, seventy-two belong to Massachusetts.

The school has been in a satisfactory state, and the classes
have made satisfactory progress, considering the condition and
capacity of the pupils,

8 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Feb.

They all lack an important sense, and many of them lack
the normal vigor and strength of youth. Some did not have
in childhood the advantage of being trained in virtuous and
intelligent families, which' are the best of all schools.

They have, for the most part, striven to make up for these
disadvantages, as the blind may well do, with success. They are
all much better for having so striven, and all are much more
intelligent and capable than they would have been without the
advantage of such opportunities for improvement. Some have
been animated by a most laudable spirit, and have made great
improvement. They stand, in point of intellectual attainment
and moral worth, above the average of ordinary persons of
their age.

The same teachers have had the charge of the school and of
the boys' workshop, and have continued to merit the confi-
dence so fairly gained by many years of faithful service.

The supervision of all household matters has devolved upon
the kind lady who discharged the duty so acceptably the last
year. She still cumbers herself with much serving, and is
careful of every thing, not forgetting the one thing needful.
The value of her ministration of material things, however,
though great, is small in comparison with the value of the
spirit in which they are performed, and which is felt in the
moral condition of the household.

Not much has been done in the printing office during the
year beyond printing a collection of hymns. The lack of
funds has virtually suspended the publication of books for the
blind just as the want of them is beginning to be generally
felt, and just when, indeed, great improvement in the art of
manufacturing them had been made.

Even the Cyclopaedia, of which several volumes had been
printed, and which promised to be the most valuable work
ever published for the blind, has been arrested at its eighth
volume. This should not be so ; and, if the merits of the case
'were widely known, it would not be. Among the many in
this age and country who feel that next after the necessity of
food and clothing comes that of reading, there are wealthy
persons who can understand how this necessity must be
sharpened by blindness, and who would surely minister to this
yearning of the blind for books if they were fully aware of it.

1855.] SENATE— No. 37. 9

The work department, as during previous years, has con-
tinued to famish employment and means of support to a num-
ber of blind men and women. The amount of sales during
the year was twenty-four thousand three hundred and sixty-
nine dollars and sixty-eight cents, which is a little less than
that of the last year. The amount paid in wages to the blind
was four thousand three hundred and twenty-five dollars and
sixteen cents, which is also a little less than the amount paid
last year. The general results, however, have been satisfac-
tory, because the balance sheet* shows a small profit, and
because the amount of stock and of manufactured articles
remaining on hand at the end of the year is considerably less
than at the beginning. Only a part of the work of an estab-
lishment is done (and that often the easiest part) when the
goods are finished and sent to the store to be sold : they are
yet to be disposed of. There is but little satisfaction in a
nominal profit on the balance sheet if it is made by rating
stock even at market price, so long as the amount of it goes
on increasing from year to year.

In estimating the value of stock and manufactured articles
on hand December 31, 1854, the same price was assumed as
had been done the like articles the last year ; there can be no
uncertainty about that, therefore. Most of the stock and man-
ufactured articles that were on hand at the beginning of the
year has been sold, as has also a large part of the articles made
up during the year.

Much of the work has been for churches, several of which
have been furnished entirely with cushions from our store.
Some of this work has been done upon a plan that is as fair
and advantageous for both parties as any that can be devised.
The purchaser finds all the materials, or pays all the bills for
them, and the work is done for him at our shop at a small rate
of profit. Where a purchaser can trust to the honesty of a
party, he certainly will find his advantage in this way of doing
business.

This matter is earnestly commended to the attention of
committees and of persons engaged in furnishing churches or
other public buildings. They may, by getting their work done

* See balance sheet for 1853 and 1854, at the end of this Report.
2

10 ASYLUM FOR THE BLTND. [Feb.

here, be sure of having it done faithfully ; of having due econ-
omy practised in the use of materials ; in a word, of making
a good bargain for those who employ them, at the same time
that they promote the benevolent purposes of the establish-
ment.

Every year's experience furnishes fresh proof of the advan-
tages of the present, on which the work department is con-
ducted, over the old one, and, indeed, over any one of which
the practical workings are well known. The relations between
the workmen and women and the Institution are the same as
between ordinary employers and persons employed, with the
difference that the Institution does not seek any pecuniary
profit, but, on the contrary, submits to a loss. It does not,
however, in consequence of this, seek to control the workmen,
or require more than should be required in all well-regulated
establishments ; to wit, good moral deportment, and regular
and faithful work. It leaves them the largest liberty, and
throws upon them the healthful responsibility of self-guidance
and control. They provide for their own board wherever and
however they choose. They become members of the general
community, and do not constitute a community of blind per-
sons. I wish that the principles upon which such establish-
ments should be founded might be well pondered by those
who are so zealously and generously engaged in building up,
in various parts of the country, schools for the blind, because
the policy which they adopt, and the shape which they give to
these establishments, will affect the interests of the blind for
years, perhaps for ages, to come. These principles show that,
whatever may be done with children, all institutions for the gov-
ernment and direction of men, whether political or social,
should interfere as little as is possible with individual character
and disposition. They should leave the greatest possible free-
dom for development and for enjoyment to each one. Their
functions should be simplified as much as may be, and their
operations confined within the narrowest limits consistent with
good morals, security and order.

Now, these principles apply to the blind as well as to others.
In their application they may need modification, but not change ;
because blindness does not necessarily change men in any im-
portant moral qualities, however it may modify them ; and it

1855.] SENATE— No. 37. 11

modifies them much less than is generally supposed — less, cer-
tainly, than deafness does. This is most fortunate for the blind,
because their welfare and happiness are greater or less accord-
ing as the consequences of their infirmity lead to greater or
less distinctions between them and other men.

If it were not for certain intellectual advantages which he
cannot well have out of a school for the blind, a sightless child
had better be reared up among ordinary persons, and never
associate closely with the blind. Thus would his individual
happiness probably be most promoted, and the effect of the
infirmity be most neutralized. In organizing establishments
for the blind, therefore, we must beware lest any of its features
tend to widen the distance between them and others, and to
create a class apart by constant and close association with
each other. "While striving to lessen the physical consequences
and disabilities resulting from their infirmity, we must try also
to lessen the moral consequences and peculiarities, so far as
they may be unfavorable to happiness.

If we bear these principles in mind, and consider that an
establishment for the employment of blind men and women
should conform as much as may be to general good usage
among those who see ; that entire personal freedom and self-
guidance are as sweet and as important to them as to us ; that
they are more likely to be happy in a humble lodging of their
own, with entire freedom, than in any great establishment
which we can organize for them, governed, as it must be, by
rules and regulations not of their own making ; especially when
we consider that communities or families of persons suffering
a common infirmity are manifestly unnatural, that they are
in manifold ways unfavorable, and are tolerable only in view
of certain great advantages,— -we shall not regard saving a lit-
tle money by boarding the workmen together in an artificial
home as an adequate compensation for the loss of the various
advantages and comforts of the natural homes which they
make for themselves in the families round about. It is true
that there are sometimes very strong and pressing cases. The
question, whether a man shall support himself or remain idle,
is sometimes decided by the cost of his board being a little
more or less ; and here the board in common would save him.
But it is better in such cases to make a special effort for his

12 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Feb.

benefit, and find him additional aid in another way, than to
depart from a clear principle.

It is proposed in some institutions to get round the difficul-
ties by providing an establishment in which workmen and
women may or may not board, as their inclination or ability
decides. But Nature is too broad to be got around ; and a
compromise of this kind, like most others, must be at the ex-
pense of a valuable principle. A boarding-house of this kind
would soon become an asylum or house of refuge for those
who, by reason of lack of bodily or mental vigor, could not
support themselves or come near to doing so. By constant
association they would act unfavorably upon each other. The
modifications of character flowing from the infirmity would
become stronger, because not neutralized by the influence of
general society. The mental and moral tone of the inmates
would almost necessarily be lowered. The great house-
hold would become a community worse than one in which the
presence of able-bodied, able-minded, active and intelligent
blind persons served as a leaven to lighten the lump.

But what is to become of those who cannot, by their unas-
sisted efforts, support themselves? Ah, that is a serious ques-
tion ; and we must try to solve it in the best, and not merely
in the easiest and cheapest, way. Society has too long ignored
the just claim of the blind, or tried to satisfy it with an alms.
They have a just claim to a share in the labor of the world,
and to a comfortable living in payment for their work. They
have a claim, too, for a place in the society of the world, and
ought neither to be banished to an almshouse, nor set apart in
a community of persons laboring under a similar infirmity.

I do not purpose to pursue this subject now ; but, before leav-
ing it I desire to mention one of the persons employed in our
work department, and who died the last year. His case is
deserving of particular notice, because it shows that men of
any calling or class of life may be reduced to need such aid as
is here afforded, and because such notice is a proper tribute to
a good man.

Captain Pratt was a navigator and shipmaster of good
standing, and enjoyed the confidence and esteem of merchants
in whose employment he sailed. He became blind while still
in the vigor of life. His situation was then a sad one. He had

J 855.| SENATE— No. 37. 13

not yet laid in ample stores for the voyage of life; and though
he cheerfully put himself upon short allowance, he knew
they would not carry him through ; and he dreaded coming to
want. He had kind friends and relatives; but dependence was
painful, and he shrank from the thought of its one day becom-
ing entire.

But what troubled him even more, was the idleness to which
he was suddenly reduced. He soon became used to the blind-
ness. It was only having the sky darkened the whole instead
of half the time. It was only standing all his watches in the
night. If he could only have employment, the rest of the voy-
age could be pursued pleasantly in the dark, for he knew he
should not miss the lighthouse at the end of it.

After a while he heard of this establishment, and removed
to South Boston with his faithful wife. They took a snug
little house near the workshop, to which he was led daily, in
which he soon learned to work. His wife was supplied with
sewing from the shop, and their joint earnings eked out their
scanty means, so that they were able to live very comfortably.

The captain was nearly himself again. His house was
always very tidy and comfortable. He had a snug parlor in
which to receive an old messmate, and a spare bed to lodge
him in. He had employment ; took an interest in it ; was
busy about it, and therefore cheerful ; and so he safely finished
his voyage without striking upon the dreaded rock of pauperism.

There may be many such cases. Blindness is accidental to
the individual, but not so to the community. It is just as sure,
in the actual physical condition of the race, that a certain pro-
portion of the people will be struck by blindness, as it is that
a certain proportion will die of consumption.

Saving by -accident, neither can occur except in imperfectly
organized individuals ; and such individuals may become very
rare, if not unknown, long before the physical condition of the
race reaches its greatest attainable perfection. This, however,
must be the work of generations upon generations ; and mean-
while we must accept the liability to blindness as one of the
conditions of our being, and provide accordingly.

Something has already been gained intellectually. For-
merly blindness was regarded as an inscrutable and unavoida-
ble dispensation — one of the many blows struck by a blind

14 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. . [Feb.

Nemesis upon an offending race ; but now men begin to see
that it is the plain consequence of a' violation of natural laws,
and that returning obedience to them will remove it.

Something, too, has been gained morally. Formerly, if a
man were struck blind midway in the path of life, he was as
surely trampled down and lost as though he were one of an
army in full flight from a vengeful foe. Now, some at least
are taken by the hand and led along. That many more ought
to be, is very certain ; and therefore it is that this particular
establishment for aiding adult blind persons ought to have
further support and great enlargement.

It needs only to be more extensively known, in order to be
more liberally encouraged. It has many friends and patrons,
and they have our warmest thanks. By giving to the estab-
lishment their countenance and patronage, they may be sure
of getting their work well done, and of giving employment and
encouragement to worthy and industrious persons.

Respectfully submitted by

S. G. HOWE.

1855.]

SENATE— No. 37.

Balance Sheets for 1853 and 1854, showing' Assets, Liabilities,

Sales, Sfc.
January 1, 1854 — Assets.

Stock on hand, .......

Cash on hand, ••.....

Debts due, .......

Balance of Indebtedness, ......

:9,143 93

723 46

6,569 12

2,076 88

3,513 39

ABILITIES.

Due Institution, Original Capital and Loan,
Due sundry individuals, .

Balance of Indebtedness in 1853, .
" " " 1854, .

Loss, ....

Wages paid Blind Persons in 1853,
Sales in 1853,

January 1, 18

55 — Assets

Stock on hand,

Cash on hand,

Debts due,

Balance of Indebtedness,

Liabilities.

Due Listitution, Original Capital and Loan, $4,256 96

" " " " " " 2,000 00

" " " " » « 2,000 00

" " " " " " 3,000 00

Due sundry individuals, . .

Amount of Indebtedness Jan. 1, 1854,
" " « " " 1855, .

Profit this year, ....

Amount of -wages paid to Blind Persons in 1854,
Amount of sales in 1854, ....

^8,256 96

10,256 43

$18,513 39

$1,658 21

2,076 88

$418 67

$4,611

28,038

$8,516 60

100

6,988

1,166

$16,772

$11,256 96
5,515 12

$16,772 80

$2,076 88
1,166 95

$909 93

$4,325 16
24,369 68

ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Feb. '55.

OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION

FOR 1855.

PRESIDENT.

EDWARD BROOKS.

YICE-PRESIDENT.

STEPHEN FAIRBANKS.

TREASURER.

T. B. WALES.

SECRETARY.

SAMUEL G. HOWE.

TRUSTEES.

THOMAS G. CARY,
THEOPHILUS P. CHANDLER,
SAMUEL ELIOT,
GEORGE B. EMERSON,
JOSEPH LYMAN,
SAMUEL MAY,
GEORGE R. RUSSELL,
G. HOWLAND SHAW,

A. J. BELLOWS,
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS,
WILLIAM M. JACKSON,
JACOB SLEEPER,

In behalf of the
Corporation.

In behalf of the
State.

TWENTY-FOURTH

ANNUAL REPORT

THE TRUSTEES

PERKINS INSTITUTION

MASSACHUSETTS
ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND,

CORPORATION.

CAMBRIDGE:
METCALF AND COMPANY,

PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY.

1856.

REPORT.

iJcriuns institution axils ittassac&usctts 8s»lum for tl)c 2JIin&.

Boston, January 14, 1856.
To the Corporation.

Gentlemen, — The Trustees respectfully report
for the year 1855, as follows.

The year has been one of general health among
the inmates, and of general prosperity in the affairs
of the establishment.

The immediate government of the Institution and
instruction of the pupils have been in the hands of
the same persons who have satisfactorily discharged
those duties for so many years. The Report of the
Director, herewith submitted, will give more in
detail the history of the year.

The cost of carrying on the establishment has
greatly increased of late years, owing to an extension
of its sphere of usefulness and to the great increase
in all the expenses of living, so that the small capi-
tal has been constantly growing smaller.

It was in consideration of this fact that the Legis-
lature, at its last session, upon the petition of the

Trustees, increased the annual grant of the State
from nine thousand to twelve thousand dollars.

Generous friends, too, have strengthened the hands
of the Trustees by timely aid. The executors of the
will of Mr. Robert G. Shaw, Jun., made an appropri-
ation from his estate of four thousand dollars, which
has been applied mainly to the support of the de-
partment for furnishing employment to adult blind
persons.

Miss Mary Lamb, by her will, left one thousand
dollars, and another maiden lady (whose family,
knowing and sharing her desire to give in secret,
wish her name withheld from the public) left five
thousand dollars for the general purposes of the
Institution.

These sums have enabled the Trustees to purchase
land adjoining the premises, and so to make a much-
needed enlargement of the play-grounds.

As it seems to be the settled policy to retain the
establishment in its present location, the Trustees
have continued the work of improving the building
and the grounds, as fast and as far as the means at
their disposal would permit. This necessarily in-
volves considerable expense ; which, however, must
not be counted as unprofitable investment.

Some other improvements are still desirable, such
as a larger laundry, bathing and washing rooms
in the east wing, and a better apparatus for warm-
ing and ventilating the whole building ; but they
would involve greater expense than the means now
at command will warrant.

The Trustees have also during the year appro-
priated twenty-five hundred dollars to increase the

capital stock of the "Work Department for Adult
Blind. This makes the total amount invested thir-
teen thousand seven hundred and fifty-six dollars
and ninety-six cents, besides the building, which cost
ten thousand dollars.

This investment, too, must be considered as a per-
manent, but not an unprofitable one. Indeed, it is
to be wished that the working capital could be
increased, so that larger purchases of stock could
be made for cash, at the most favorable seasons.

Often as the objects of the Work Department of
the Institution have been stated, the Trustees will
re-state them. There are many young men and
women, former pupils in the school, (or persons be-
coming blind when beyond the age for entering the
school,) who have not the ability to teach music, or
earn a livelihood, except by the work of their hands.
They have been taught handicraft, and are willing to
work ; but blind workmen, though ever so skilful
and industrious, cannot compete with ordinary work-
men. If unprotected, they, as the weakest, surely
suffer in the competition which surely follows when
they go into the market. With few exceptions, they
must be helped in some way, or go to the alms-
house. Plain as this truth is, it has been too often
ignored by the friends of the blind. They have
thought it to be enough to instruct them in the
common branches of learning, to give them knowl-
edge of some handicraft, and let them take their
chance in the world. But the rules of trade have
no exceptions, and no saving clauses for charity.
Humanity, indeed, admits that every man has a just
claim for work, and for bread enough to eat in pay-

ment thereof. But competition is a race with a
scramble at the end, and the winner gets not only
all he can eat, but all he can carry off. Now, in
this race the man without eyes is distanced by the
man with eyes, who not only works more swiftly,
but whose sight is advantageous to him in various
ways. The object of the Work Department, there-
fore, is to lessen the inequality in the race between
them, — to give the blind man a better start, and
less weight to carry. This is done by taking off
from him certain burdens which the other must
carry, such as interest on capital, rent, commissions
on sales, and the like. These have been assumed
by the Institution for several years, and of course
at considerable cost. But a number of blind men
and women have been enabled to secure for them-
selves the whole profits of their work, and to live
comfortabty, not in an asylum, but boarding in fam-
ilies of their own selection ; not in unnatural asso-
ciations, or families of persons having a common
infirmity, but according to the natural way, the
infirm diffused among the sound members of com-
mon society.

The means are now wanted for extending these
advantages to a greater number, for many need them.
There are many who could, by great diligence, earn
almost enough to support themselves ; but as they
would fall somewhat short of enough to pay their
board in the city, they must remain idle at home in
the country, perhaps at public charge.

There should be a fund, the interest of which di-
vided among industrious blind men and women, ac-
cording to their merits and wants, would enable

them so to eke out their scanty earnings as to live
in comfort. The legacy of Mr. Shaw will make a
beginning in this way.

The Trustees are happy to state, that the work of
printing for the blind has been resumed during the
past year, and they trust that means will be provided
for carrying it on ; because it is a matter which con-
cerns not only the pupils of this Institution, but the
blind of the whole country, and indeed of all who
use the English language; for, with trifling excep-
tions, none is done elsewhere.

The Paradise Lost of Milton has been printed dur-
ing the past year, and the other poetical works of
the illustrious bard are now in press.

The means for printing Paradise Lost were fur-
nished mainly by Mr. J. M. Heady, a blind youth of
Kentucky, who conceived an ardent desire that his
fellows in misfortune should possess this great poem,
and went about his State, and collected nearly five
hundred dollars for the purpose. This was not suffi-
cient for so large an edition as was wanted, but
nearly so, and the work was undertaken here.

There is something uncommonly interesting about
this little circumstance. Less than two centuries
ago the blind bard wrote his great work, for which
he could hardly find a publisher, and his publisher
hardly find readers, in the capital of the Old World ;
and now it has become of such universal repute, that
a blind youth goes about a great State, which in
Milton's day was a howling wilderness, and asks the
inhabitants thereof, not, as blind men in the olden
time were wont to do, for alms, but that he and his
fellows may possess this poem and enjoy it. He

asks, too, that the books may be in such form as to
be read without eyesight, which Milton would have
said never could be done, except by a miracle as
strange as any he sang about.

The Trustees hope that this enterprise of printing
for the blind may find favor among those who are
able to promote it, since the funds of the Institution
do not suffice to carry it on as it should be carried
on. Any book of merit would be most acceptable ;
and persons so disposed may cause to be printed any
work of their own selection which they think cal-
culated to promote the advantage and happiness of
the blind.

The Trustees refer the Corporation to the Treas-
urer's Report, herewith submitted, for an account of
the expenses and the state of the funds.

The several inventories required by law are ready
for examination.

Finally, the Trustees commend the Institution and
its interests to the Corporation, the Legislature, and
the public, as worthy of their moral and material
encouragement and aid.

THOMAS G. CARY,

THEOPHTLUS P. CHANDLER,

SAMUEL ELIOT,

JOSEPH LYMAN,

SAMUEL MAY,

GEORGE R. RUSSELL,

G. HOWLAND SHAW,

A. J. BELLOWS,
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS,
WILLIAM M. JACKSON,
JACOB SLEEPER,

Trustees
in behalf
of the
Corporation.

Trustees
in behalf

of the

State.

S. G. HOWE, Secretary.

REPORT

OF THE DIRECTOR TO THE TRUSTEES.

Gentlemen, — You have been made acquainted
with the internal condition of the Institution by
your visits, and by the reports which have been laid
before you monthly. To the Corporation, however,
and to others concerned in its welfare, a general
summary may be interesting. Nor need the report
be confined to mere statistics, and a recital of what
has actually occurred.

In most of the reports of foreign institutions of
beneficence there is little more than a list of honor-
able names of patrons and governors, of subscribers
to the funds, and a few meagre statistics. In this
country we sometimes run into the opposite extreme
of diffuseness ; but this is the better extreme. Here
the annual reports, especially of institutions kindred
to this, serve not only as historical and statistical rec-
ords, but constitute a sort of periodical literature for
the blind and the mute, and furnish an opportunity
to those engaged in the management of the schools
for setting forth the results of their experience and
reflection. Thus the knowledge gained in one place
2

is made useful in others ; and. the institutions become
mutually advantageous to each other.

The reports of the Superintendents, especially, have
contained valuable hints and suggestions, and it is to
be hoped that the practice of allowing them full lib-
erty and opportunity of publishing their views will
be encouraged.

The observations of simple and earnest men, deeply
engaged in any pursuit involving so much care and
responsibility, are almost necessarily worth more for
practical purposes, than the speculations even of
superior men, who give but passing attention to the
matter. The Superintendents, being alone respon-
sible for the opinions they express, are thereby en-
couraged and cautioned; and even if they make
mistakes, these may be of advantage to others.

The number of pupils in the Junior Department
reported January 1st, 1855, was seventy-nine. Of
these, nine left during the year, while twenty-one new
ones entered ; so that the present number is ninety-one.
The number in the Adult Department has decreased,
however, being at the close of the year only twenty-
three. So that the total number of blind persons
connected with the Institution is one hundred and
fourteen.

The general health of the inmates has been good.
We have to mourn, however, for the loss, by death,
of one of the most interesting and promising of
them. Miss Julia Graves died at home, during the
autumnal vacation, of acute disease. She was a per-
son of uncommon ability, and excellent character.
She was greatly beloved here, as well as at her home,
and her loss is greatly lamented by many.

This is the only case of death among the pupils for
many years ; which is remarkable in view of the fact
that the blind, as a class, are more liable to disease
than other classes of men, and the average duration
of life among them is shorter.

There has been but little change of the persons
employed in the School and in the household. The
same teachers and officers who have for many years
discharged their various duties so diligently and
satisfactorily, have continued during the past year to
render their valuable services. The good condition
of the School and house is mainly owing to their care
and fidelity.

Mr. G. T. Murdock, a former pupil, left us during
the year to take a post of responsibility in the
Institution for the Blind in Kentucky. He had
been for several years employed here as master of
the boys' workshop, and had general charge of their
deportment out of school. He has been of great use,
and his large experience will doubtless be valuable
in his new sphere. His place has been taken by
Mr. McLaughlin, also a former pupil. One teacher
and two assistants, all blind, are still useful here.
The mention of this leads naturally to some con-
siderations as to the fitness of the blind for teachers.

When the various institutions were established in
this country, it was expected and foretold, that, by
careful training and instruction, the blind might not
only become the best teachers in these establish-
ments, but would also be well fitted for teaching
certain branches in schools for common children.
The result, however, has not justified even the first
of these expectations.

The mode of instruction almost universally adopted
with ordinary children, and considered essential in
this country, is not such as to give to blind persons
a good opportunity of exercising the talent for in-
struction which they may possess. The reasons for
this are various. Prominent among them is the fact
that he can exercise but imperfect supervision. The
instruction is given to classes ; and it is only a rarely
gifted person who can keep a class of children atten-
tive and studious more than a few minutes at a time,
by the mere interest with which he can inspire them
in the subject of study. There will be some whose
thoughts wander at once, and they soon draw off
others if left unrestrained. Now the teacher's eye is
a live whip, and its efficacy is wonderful. The blind
man lacks this whip, and though his ear may be so
acute that he can hear the rustle of a limb, or a
nod of the head, he cannot hear winks and looks.
In oral teaching he might darken the room, and
gain that superior quickness of perception which
a common teacher should have ; but this would
hardly be allowed.

Nor does the eye act as whip and spur alone, but
in various ways it quickens and enlivens the rela-
tions which are so important between teacher and
pupil. It might be thought that, in teaching a class
of blind children, sight could give a teacher but little
advantage. It is not so, however ; he still has many
advantages over the blind teacher, which are not
quite counterbalanced by the sympathetic relations
which the latter so much more readily establishes
with his pupils. This will appear if we attend to
certain facts, some of which involve considerations
of the moral effects of blindness.

Total blindness is not common among those who
are considered as blind. A large proportion can dis-
tinguish between daylight and dark ; many " see
men as trees walking " ; others can even distinguish
colors. They are known as " seeing blind." Some-
times even when there is such disorganization of the
structure of the eyeballs as utterly to prevent vision,
the light still affects the nerves, and the person will
hardly admit that he is blind. In all these cases the
children have a pretty distinct notion of the kind of
supervision which eyesight enables others to exercise
over them, and they regulate themselves accordingly.
They also readily adapt themselves to all those moral
relations and social arrangements which are modified
at least by the existence of vision among men.

There are cases, though comparatively rare, where
eyeballs never existed, or were totally destroyed in
infancy ; or where the optic nerves are so completely
paralyzed, that the person is in total and " ever-during
darkness." It would seem that children in this con-
dition would not only be unable to form any clear
conception of the sense of sight, but would with
difficulty be made to conform to the ordinary modes
of life of those whose whole physical relations are
so much influenced and modified by the existence of
light.

The same difficulty, though to a less degree, might
be supposed to exist even with certain moral rela-
tions; for these, and many of the " minor morals," are
influenced and modified in the same way by light.
But there is little difficulty of the kind. It is true
that the moral relation among beings with one sense
more or one sense less than we have, would be differ-

ent, and to us inconceivably different, from those we
hold with our kind. But a man born blind is not in
the condition of one of a race of beings differing from
us by the lack of one sense, and therefore the differ-
ence between us is not utter, and our mode of physi-
cal and moral being is not utterly inconceivable
by him. This is not the common notion even of
philosophical writers, among whom the doctrines put
forth by Diderot, in his brilliant but paradoxical
letter on the blind, seem prevalent. One or two as-
sertions which he makes, with comments thereon,
will illustrate the drift of these remarks.

Finding that a blind man holds thieving in great
aversion, he says it arises from two causes, — " the
ease with which others can steal from him without
his knowing it, and still more, perhaps, the ease with
which others would detect him if he should attempt
to steal from them."

There is covert malice or false reasoning here.
The propensity to steal arises from the greater or less
activity of the desire to acquire and possess, and of
the restraining power of conscience. Now the origi-
nal activity of these must be the same in the blind
as in seeing persons, and can be but little modified
by the necessary difference of their training. It is
true that there is usually considerable difference in
the training, and in the external relations of the
blind and of those not blind ; and if there should be
many successive generations of blind persons, the
training would affect the stock. A normal condition
of the whole apparatus of physical sensation is essen-
tial to perfect development of the moral nature, and
a race of men with one sense less than we have would

doubtless be inferior to ours. But though Nature
allows a "wide margin of oscillation," she allows
no such aberration as a race of blind men would
be. At any rate, we have to do with individual
cases only, and in treating these we must always
bear in mind that the blind are not a class apart,
and that in the main their education is to be con-
ducted upon the same general principles as that of
other children.

Again, Diderot says : " The blind man makes lit-
tle account of modesty. Were it not for the inclem-
ency of the weather, from which clothing guards
him, he would not understand its use. He confesses,
indeed, that he does not understand why we cover
one part of the body more than another," &c.

This is unsound in theory, and contradicted by
facts. Modesty is not conventional, but natural.
The constitution of the human mind gives men not
only the capacity, but the strong tendency, to attain
it. The immodesty of savages shows not only their
non-attainment, but it shows too that civilization,
and not savagedom, is the normal condition of man.

If modesty were merely conventional, it would have
been necessary, in the case of Laura Bridgman, to take
uncommon pains to teach her its observances, — to
give her caution upon caution, and most careful direc-
tions as to deportment in various circumstances ; and
after all it would have been impossible to provide for
all contingencies, and to prevent her from violating
the rules of propriety in company. But nothing of
the kind was done, for it was unnecessary. No par-
ticular directions about modest deportment and man-
ners were given her, and yet no maiden ever adopted

them more readily, or observed them more scru-
pulously. With the development of her intellect
came the revelations of the moral nature, and she
could read the scripture of her own heart, teaching
purity and virtue.

These general reflections are not so wide of prac-
tical application as they may at first seem to be. If
we consider that the difference between a blind child
and one who sees is not a radical one, arising from a
specific difference of character, but an accidental one,
arising from accidental lack of one sense (and that
sense not the most important for mental and moral
development), we shall see how easily a class of blind
children adapt themselves to those peculiarities of
treatment adopted by those whose character and
actions are much modified by living in an atmos-
phere of light. We shall see, too, that, while a blind
person certainly labors under disadvantages (moral
as well as mechanical), he will feel these principally
in his attempt to teach classes in common schools, or
classes of young children in schools for the blind.
In these cases he cannot compete satisfactorily to
himself, or advantageously to his pupils, with teach-
ers of equal ability who have sight.

He can do much better in those cases where he is
sure of the interest and co-operation of his pupils, as
in teaching a single scholar ; or in teaching special
branches, as music, or mathematics, to persons of
mature mind, or teaching advanced classes in a
school for the blind. In these cases the physical
or mechanical disadvantages under which a blind
person necessarily labors are counterbalanced by
certain advantages in mental training which blind-

ness often gives. A blind man who has a thorough
knowledge of music or mathematics, and also that
fervid impulse to communicate it which gives inspi-
ration to the teacher of anything, will find means to
overcome all the difficulties in his way, and teach
any person who earnestly desires to be taught.

There are in this country, as well as in Europe,
several blind persons who teach with great ability
and success, both in schools for the blind and out of
them. But the most eminent example on record is
that of Saunderson, the celebrated algebraist, who
succeeded Whiston in the chair of Mathematics at
Cambridge, the same which had before been filled
by Sir Isaac Newton. Saunderson's example should
be kept in mind by every blind person who aspires
to eminence in any branch of learning, for he was in
the condition of one born blind, having lost his sight
entirely, by small-pox, when a babe in arms. Yet
he became a good classical scholar, and a profound
mathematician. He was the friend and correspond-
ent of Newton. He wrote elaborate treatises on
algebra and fluxions; and what seems next to im-
possible, he was able to interest and instruct large
classes in a great University upon the laws of light,
the theory of colors, and other subjects connected
with mathematics. His seemed the pursuit of knowl-
edge, not under difficulties only, but impossibilities.
He was eminent and useful in life, and his usefulness
did not cease with his death ; for even now, let any
blind person who longs for, yet despairs of attaining
eminence in knowledge, only think of Saunderson,
and he will take heart and hope.

Our pupils have continued to make proficiency in
3

the study and practice of vocal and instrumental
music, under the charge of their kind and assiduous
teacher, Mr. Ansorge. Almost all who have left
carry with them the means of increasing their own
happiness, and the pleasure of others, by their ac-
quaintance with music; and some have a fair pros-
pect of earning their livelihood as organists or teach-
ers.

The development and cultivation of musical taste
have such refining effect upon character ; the love and
practice of music, like vigorous growth of healthy
plants, so tend to keep down noxious weeds that
spring up in every neglected soil ; the blind have such
general fondness for the musical art ; a proficiency in
it so surely promotes their own happiness and the
pleasure of all about them, while it opens a field of
profitable employment to all who have marked abil-
ity, — that our practice has always been to give ele-
mentary instruction in vocal and instrumental music
to all our pupils. The only exceptions are those rare
cases where the pupils have defective hearing, or
those still rarer cases where they lack the capacity
for perceiving and the faculty of enjoying the har-
monious relations of sound.

Where there are so many pupils, the instruction
must be going on all the time, and upon a great va-
riety of instruments. This makes our great house
like a huge smithy, where men with hammers and
tongs and files and bellows are fashioning machines.
There is clashing and clanging, and drumming and
scraping and squeaking, and dire distracting discord ;
but out of all this confusion comes at last a concord
of sweet sounds, and harmony and beauty. , Nor

does the advantage end here, but there go forth
every year those who will carry the love and knowl-
edge of music to many a distant home, and who will
become sources of refinement and pleasure to all
about them.

The same policy is observed in most of the kin-
dred schools in the United States, so that there are
now a considerable number of blind persons who
have been taught vocal and instrumental music.
Some of them, having natural gifts, have by great
diligence attained considerable skill, and lead useful
lives as organists, tuners of pianos, or teachers of
music. In this way the debt to the public is par-
tially repaid.

Like most good things, however, this general edu-
cation of the blind, and especially their instruction in
music, is liable to abuse, and it is sometimes followed
by an evil which will continue some time, and then
probably correct itself. The generous gift of music
made by the public to the blind is sometimes met
with an ungrateful return ; as when the public is
pestered by strolling bands of blind musicians, who
have no especial talent but that of assurance, and
who take advantage of the ready sympathy which
their infirmity excites, and get money for music
which is so poor that it would hardly be listened
to, certainly not paid for, if perpetrated by ordinary
persons.

There may be some strollers who really merit
attention and encouragement as public performers,
but they must be very rare exceptions. Some, too,
may be driven into this pursuit by what seems stern
necessity; and they are to be pitied. But for the

most part they are persons disinclined to regular and
industrious occupation, — persons of idle habits, who
love to rove about and frequent taverns, — who delight
to excite attention in villages and be the object of
public interest. The life they lead is necessarily de-
moralizing to themselves, and worse than useless to
others. Blind persons, especially young women, who
respect themselves and regard the class to which they
belong, will shrink from a course which is hardly
better than licensed beggary.

Such strolling bands should seldom be encouraged
by the public. The money which is given from a
feeling of sympathy can seldom be of real use, for
the strollers cannot long earn a living by such a
course. They must go from place to place, and de-
pend upon the interest excited by the novelty of the
exhibition ; and when this is over, they are left worse
off than they were before, because unfitted by the de-
moralizing nature of their occupation for quiet and
steady industry.

Sometimes, however, the public should sternly
rebuke blind strollers, for they raise money by falsely
pretending that they are authorized to do so by pub-
lic institutions, or that they are going to print books,
or to do something else for the benefit of the blind
generally. In this way many impose upon super-
intendents of railroads, and keepers of hotels, and
travel scot-free.

It should be as widely known as the press can
make it, that the generous sympathy of the public
with the blind has been and still is grossly abused,
not only by strolling blind musicians, but by un-
worthy individuals, who, as agents, as lecturers, and

even as preachers, raise money, and live in free quar-
ters, by falsely pretending that they are laboring for
the good of their fellows in misfortune. Many a
church, and even pulpits, have been polluted by the
presence of such men.

The high character which the blind (as a class)
deservedly bear for patient endurance of a grievous
infirmity, their general honesty, industry, and good
qualities of mind and heart, make the public a more
easy dupe of a few lazy beggars or unprincipled im-
postors.

In the Work Department rather less has been
done than during the preceding year. The demand
has not been so great. The cost of carrying on the
shop, over and above the receipts, has been seven
hundred and forty-one dollars and forty cents. The
amount paid in cash to blind men and women was
three thousand three hundred and seventeen dollars
and eighty-one cents ; or one thousand and seven
dollars and thirty-five cents less than in 1854.
Much of the work has been in large orders, as
furnishing cushions for churches.

There is usually a sharp competition for these jobs,
and we obtain them only with great difficulty. In
the first place, there is a natural disposition on the
part of the committee of the church to give the
work to tradesmen who belong to the sect or con-
gregation ; then some of the committee have per-
sonal preferences, or their business connections may
incline them to favor some particular house; then
some of the competing parties, having little to lose
in capital or reputation, put in low bids, and, if they
get the job, quell any chance compunctions of con-

science by reflecting that, as the committee would
have cheap work, they must take up with poor work,
— that the workman is worthy of his hire, and that
they have a right to a fair profit on the job, whether
it was so nominated in the bond or not, — and the
like.

There is no business in which substitution of poor
stock and poor work for good materials and faithful
work can be more easily made, or pass longer un-
detected, than in upholstery. Happily, in our es-
tablishment, no one is subject to the temptations
of unjust gain ; and the work is ahvays done faith-
fully and strictly according to contract. The pref-
erence, therefore, which church committees some-
times give to the blind amounts to this : " You give
us greater assurance than any one else, that you will
fulfil the contract in letter and in spirit ; — now if
you will also take it for a less number of dollars than
any one else, you may have it ; if not, not." The
workmen are, perhaps, without employment, — they
are very anxious for the job, — and we name a price
that will barely cover cost, supposing everything
works favorably. But sometimes everything does
not work favorably, and though we get the contract,
there may be actual loss upon it. The cushions,
however, are put into the church all the same, and
the congregation sit down with the comforting assur-
ance that the committee have furnished the pews in
the very cheapest manner, and, at the same time,
" have encouraged the blind." Sometimes the com-
mittees give further " encouragement " to the virtue
of patience, by withholding payment long beyond the
time stipulated, and to the virtue of perseverance by

placidly resisting duns. This is not always the case,
however, for some committees of churches and other
public buildings are willing to treat our establish-
ment, in their official capacity, with the same lib-
erality which characterizes them in their individual
capacity, and which so many of our citizens manifest
in their dealings with our shop.

But though the past year has not been one of
prosperity with the Work Department, it is, neverthe-
less, now in a better condition than before to execute
orders, large or small ; for the workmen have, for the
most part, become quite expert in their several call-
ings by long experience.

: - The workshop of the Junior Department, or the
training shop, continues to be useful by making the
children dexterous, and preparing them for that man-
ual labor which all should be able to perform, and
which many will have to rely upon for support in
after life.

This; apprenticeship to work is quite as important
for girls as for boys, and probably a larger proportion
of the former will be able to earn a comfortable live-
lihood in after life by their own hands. This, how-
ever, will not be by working at what are called trades.
There is now in this country such a minute subdi-
vision of labor, and such sharp competition for em-
ployment, — the work done by girls is so light, and
depends so much on quickness of sight, swiftness of
hand, and accuracy of movement, — that a workshop
for any special trade, carried on by blind girls, cannot
compete with ordinary shops, except at considerable
loss. Nevertheless, it would be desirable to carry on
such a shop, and to teach trades to girls even at a

loss, provided the occupation were such as gave habits
of manual dexterity, and were besides such as they
would be likely to work at to advantage in after life,
at their several homes. It should be borne in mind,
however, that all the disadvantages attendant upon
congregating blind men together in one establishment
are as great, if not greater, in the case of women.

It has not been the policy of our Institution to
teach regular " trades " to girls, because there are so
many difficulties in the way of employing women ad-
vantageously upon them, and because there are so
many considerations which render questionable the
wisdom of so employing them, even if it could be
done profitably, or even at small pecuniary loss.

Our policy has been to teach sewing, knitting, and
such simple kinds of fancy work as develop the me-
chanical faculties, and give dexterity and quickness
of hand. In addition to this, the girls are taught
various kinds of house-work, laundry-work, and the
like.

Employment of some kind in the domestic circle
is on many accounts the most suitable for blind
women ; and many years' experience shows that a
larger proportion of them can be so employed with
advantage to themselves and others, than was former-
ly anticipated. We must not indeed infer, that, be-
cause an individual blind woman can do this or that
kind of house-work, therefore all, or even the most
of them, can do the like ; but when we see many
overcoming difficulties that seemed even to them in-
superable, we may profit by the lesson. Now we
do frequently see blind women performing domestic
offices such as would at first be deemed utterly unfit

for them. They are handy at the needle, and some
even fashion garments. They do various kinds of
netting, knotting, crochet-work, and the like. They
can do common washing and ironing, and wash up
floors. They can spread the table, clear it away,
wash up the dishes, and put them away. They can
make beds, and clean np chambers. They can be
useful assistants in the nursery, and in the kitchen.
They are not so afraid of the fire, or scalding water,
but that many a one will put on the kettle, set the
table, get out the caddy, skim a pan of milk for cream,
and make herself a nice cup of tea, rather than go to
bed without it.

When they are thrown upon their own resources,
and obliged to perform such domestic offices for them-
selves, or for those nearly connected with them, we
see so many of them go to work resolutely, and be-
come expert and handy at house-work, that we are
inclined to believe too little account has been gener-
ally made of the capacity of blind girls for becoming
useful domestics. I am confident that too little ac-
count has been made of it here, and believe the same
is true of other institutions. A greater attention to
various kinds of house- work, with a view to domestic
service, is perhaps desirable. There are many of our
educated blind women who have counted in vain upon
their music or other accomplishments as a means
of livelihood, and who would now be much better if
they had given closer attention, when young, to
household work. There are several reasons why more
attention has not been given to this matter in public
institutions. Among them has been, in some cases,
a false pride, on the part of pupils and friends, and
4

a participation in the vulgar notion of the disreputa-
bility of the occupation of domestics. Perhaps this
has been fostered by the great interest of the public
in the institutions and their pupils, and the general
desire to atone for the former neglect of the blind, by
doing everything that is possible for their improve-
ment. The zeal of kindness may have unduly warped
the policy to the side of indulgence, and when expe-
rience demonstrates this, it is the part of wisdom and
true friendship to rectify it. A greater attention to
various kinds of house-work, with a view to employ-
ment as domestics, is perhaps desirable in the educa-
tion of blind girls. Many of them are so situated as
to find pleasant places in the families of their rela-
tives, and those who are not may find friends who
by a little extra care and attention, and by a little
modification of their domestic arrangements, can give
them profitable employment.

It is gratifying to be able to announce that some-
thing has been done by our press towards supplying
that pressing need for more books, which the educa-
tion of so many blind persons causes to be more and
more keenly felt. The Paradise Lost of Milton has
been printed, mainly by subscriptions raised by Mr.
J. M. Heady, a blind youth, who had conceived a
strong desire to confer upon his fellows in misfor-
tune the great boon which such a poem in raised
letters would be. He went about his native State
(Kentucky), and raised a sum sufficient to commence
the work. Further means were found here, not only
to print a larger edition of the Paradise Lost than
Mr. Heady's means would warrant, but also to add
another volume, with Paradise Regained, Sampson

Agonistes, Lycidas, and most of the poetical works of
the great bard who sang so sweetly, though " dark-
ling."

A vigorous effort should be made still further to
increase the library of the blind, and there is a pros-
pect that it will be made successfully during the
present year.

The several inventories required by law are here-
with submitted.

Respectfully,

S. G. HOWE.

P. S. A translation of Diderot's celebrated Essay
upon the Blind is about to be put to press.

APPENDIX

GENERAL ABSTRACT OF THE

Dr.

Perkins Institution for the Blind in

For amount paid, at sundry dates, on Orders of Auditors, for
various disbursements for ordinary expenses, and improve-
ment of real estate, as per account rendered, . . . $20,135.95
For amount paid H. Waldron and others, for Land at S. Boston, 3,711.00
" " " Theophilus Stover, Land on Broadway, . 450.00
" " " " " " " " $2,811.50

Less remaining on mortgage, 1,500.00

" " " for building materials for Stable,

fences, &c,
" " " advanced to capital of Shop,
" Cash on hand to new account, .

1,311.50

1,500.00
2,500.00

780.47

$30,388.92

Note. — This account shows the actual receipts and expenditures only, not
the amounts borrowed and repaid during the year.

TREASURER'S REPORT FOR 1855.

Account ivith T. B. Wales, Treasurer. Cr.

By Cash from old account, ......% 152.13

" Four Quarterly Payments of Appropriation by State of

Massachusetts, 10,500.00

" Amount received from S. Carolina, for Pupils, $ 630.00
" " " " Vermont, for Pupils, . 1,290.20

« " " " Private Pupils, . . 324.50

2,244.70

Indiana Institution for the Blind,

for Books,

Apparatus, &c, 35.25

New York,

" . . 19.24

Tennessee,

" . . 38.00

Iowa,

" . . 120.75

Strangers,

" . . 5.00

218.24

Dividends on Stocks, . . . 1,199.60

William Oliver's Estate, . . 225.00

Executor of Robert G. Shaw, Jr., 4,000.00

" " Miss Lamb, . . 1,000.00

Legacy, 5,000.00

Donations, ..... 5.00

Sale of Stocks, .... 5,444.25

Mr. Heady, on account of Printing, 400.00

$30,388.92
Errors excepted.

(Signed,) T. B. Wales, Treasurer.

Boston, Dec. 31, 1855.

Boston, \2th January, 1856.

The undersigned, a Committee appointed to examine the accounts of
the Treasurer of the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for
the Blind, for the year 1855, have attended to that duty, and hereby cer-
tify that they find the accounts to be correctly cast and properly vouched,
and the balance to be seven hundred eighty dollars j*^, say $ 780.47.

The Treasurer also exhibited to us evidence of the following prop-
erty belonging to the Institution : —

9 Shares

in New England Bank, .

$ 900.00

17 "
25 "

State Bank, ....
Tremont Bank,

1,020.00
2,500.00

12 "

Columbian Bank, .

1,200.00

25 "
10 "

Concord Railroad,

Boston and Providence Railroad,

1,250.00
900.00

50 "

Western Railroad,

4,812.50

10 "

Boston and Maine Railroad, .

1,045.00

$13,627.50

Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased June, 1844, $ 755.68

Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased March, 1847, 5,000.00

Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased Sept., 1848, 5,500.00

Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased Jan., 1850, 1,762.50

Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased July, 1850, 1,020.25

Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased May, 1855, 3,710.00

Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased -Aug., 1855, 450.00

Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased

April, 1855, .... 2,811 50

Less Mortgage Deed to Mass. Hospital

Life Office, for . . 1.500.00

1.311.50

19,509.93

8 33,137.43

Nathaniel II. Emmons, ( Commiltee.
Joseph N. Howe, $

APPENDIX B.

BALANCE-SHEETS FOR 1854 AND 1855, SHOWING
ASSETS, LIABILITIES, SALES, &c.

January 1, 1855.

Assets.

Stock on hand, $8,516.60

Cash " 100.18

Debts due, 6,988.35

Balance of Indebtedness, 1,166.95

$ 16,772.08
Liabilities.
Due Institution, Orijiinal Capital and Loan,
4,256.96 , 2,000.00 }ftllo,fiQfi
2,000.00 ~T 3,000.00 \ * 11'<!0D-yD
" Sundry Individuals, . 5,515.12

$ 16,772.08

Balance of Indebtedness in 1854, $2,076.88

" " " in 1855 1,166.95

Profit this year, $909.93

Wages paid Blind Persons in 1854, $4,325.16

Amount of Sales in 1854, $24,369.68

January 1, 1856.
Assets.

Stock on hand, $7,428.36

Cash " 504.04

Debts due, 8,017.59

Balance of Indebtedness, 1,908.35

$ 17,858.34
Liabilities.

Due Institution, Original Capital and Loan,

4,256.96 3,000.00 )

2,000.00 -f- 2,500.00 \ $ 13,756.96

2,000.00 J

Due sundry Individuals, . 4,101.38

$ 17,858.34

Balance of Indebtedness, Jan. 1, 1855, .... $1,166.95

" " 1856, .... 1,908.35

Loss this year, 741.40

Wages paid Blind Persons in 1855, .... $3,317.81

Amount of Sales in 1855, $ 19,958.60

32
LIST OF BOOKS

PRINTED AT THE

PERKINS INSTITUTION AND MASSACHUSETTS
ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

WITH PRICES OF SUCH AS ARE FOR SALE.

Lardner's Universal History, .
Howe's Geography,

" Atlas of the Islands, .
English Reader, First Part, .

" " Second Part, .

Principles of Arithmetic,
Astronomical Dictionary,
Philosophy of Natural History,
Rudiments of Natural Philosophy
Cyclopaedia,

The Book of Common Prayer,
Guide to Devotion,
New Testament (Small),
New " (Large),

Old " ...

Book of Psalms, .

" Proverbs, .
Psalms in Verse, .
Psalms and Hymns,
The Dairyman's Daughter, .
" Spelling-Book,
" Sixpenny Glass of Wine,
Howe's Blind Child's Manual, .
" First Book,

" " " Second Part,

Collection of Hymns for the Blind,
Milton's Poetical Works,

Total number,

No. of

Volumes.

Price per
Volume.
8 3.00
3.00
2.50
3.00
3.00
1.00
2.50
1.50
1.00
1.50
1.50
1.50
2.00
2.00
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.00
1.50
3.00
3.00
3.00

1.00
1.00

2.00

* Price varies according to style of binding.

TERMS OF ADMISSION

Young- blind persons, of good moral character, can be admitted
to the School by paying $ 200 per annum. This sum covers all
expenses, except for clothing ; namely, board, washing, medicines,
the use of books, musical instruments, &c. The pupils must fur-
nish their own clothing, and pay their own fares to and from the
Institution. The friends of the pupils can visit them whenever
they choose.

Indigent blind persons, of suitable age and character, belonging
to Massachusetts, can be admitted gratuitously, by application to
the Governor for a warrant.

The following is a good form, though any other will do : —

"To his Excellency the Governor: —

" Sir, — My son, (or daughter, or nephew, or niece, as the case
may be,) named A. B., and aged , cannot be instructed in the
common schools for want of sight. I am unable to pay for the
tuition at the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the
Blind, and I request that your Excellency will grant a warrant for
free admission.

" Very respectfully, ."

The application may be made by any relation or friend, if the
parents are dead or absent.

It should be accompanied by a certificate from one or more of
the Selectmen of the town, or Aldermen of the city, in this form : —

" I hereby certify, that, in my opinion, Mr. is not a

wealthy person, and that he cannot afford to pay $ 200 per annum
for his child's instruction.

(Signed,) " ."

There should also be a certificate, signed by some regular phy-
sician, in this form : —

" I certify, that, in my opinion, has not sufficient

vision to be taught in common schools ; and that he is free from
epilepsy, and from any contagious disease.

(Signed,) " ."

These papers should be done up together, and directed to " The
Secretary of State, State-House, Boston, Mass."

An obligation will be required from some responsible person,
that the pupil shall be removed without expense to the Institution,
whenever it may be desirable to discharge him.

The usual period of tuition is from five to seven years.

Indigent blind persons residing in Maine, New Hampshire, Ver-
mont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and South Carolina, by applying
as above to the " Commissioners for the Blind," care of the Sec-
retary of State in the respective States, can obtain warrants of free
admission.

For further particulars, address Dr. S. G. Howe, Director of the
Institution for the Blind, Boston, Mass.

The relations or friends of the blind who may be sent to the
Institution are requested to furnish information in answer to the
following questions : —

1. What is the age of the applicant ?

2. Where was he born ?

3. Was he born blind ?

4. If not born blind, at what age did he become so ?

5. What is the supposed cause of the blindness ?

6. Have there been any cases of blindness, or deafness, or in-
sanity, in the family of the applicant, among his brothers and sis-
ters, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, or cousins ?

8. Were the parents or the grandparents of the applicant related
to each other by blood ? If so, in what degree ?

OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION

FOR 1856.

PRESIDENT.

EDWARD BROOKS.

VICE-PRESIDENT.

STEPHEN FAIRBANKS.

TREASURER.

THOMAS B. WALES.

SECRETARY.

SAMUEL G. HOWE.

TRUSTEES.

THOMAS G. CARY, ")

THEOPHILUS P. CHANDLER,
SAMUEL ELIOT,
GEORGE B. EMERSON,
JOSEPH LYMAN,
SAMUEL MAY,
WILLIAM PERKINS,
GEORGE R. RUSSELL,

WILLIAM M. CORNELL, "]

STEPHEN FAIRBANKS, I In behalf of the

WILLIAM M. JACKSON, State.

JOSEPH B. THAXTER,

In behalf of the
Corporation.

TWENTY-FIFTH

ANNUAL REPORT

THE TRUSTEES

PERKINS INSTITUTION

MASSACHUSETTS
ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND,

CORPORATION.

CAMBRIDGE:
METCALF AND COMPANY,

PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY.

1857.

REPORT.

33edtfns Knstftutfon anti ifEassadjusctts Stsjjlum for t&c Ulfnti

Boston, January 12, 1857.

To the Corporation : —

Gentlemen, — There has been no change of the
usual routine in the internal affairs of the Institution,
no change of persons administering them, and no
marked event to break the uniformity of the year, so
that the Annual Report of this Board may well be
confined to matters strictly required by law.

The record of the doings of the Board at their
monthly and special meetings is herewith submitted.

The general condition of the Institution has been
highly satisfactory to the Board.

The whole number of persons connected with it at
the close of the year, also the admissions and dis-
charges, will be shown by the Director's Report.

The Report of the Treasurer shows that, aside from
its real estate, the Institution has a capital of only
# 13,627.50.

The accounts of the Treasurer have been duly
audited and certified by a Committee of your Board.

The accounts for the immediate expenses of the
Institution have been carefully audited every month
by a committee of the Trustees.

The usual inventory of real and personal property
is herewith submitted.

THOMAS G. CARY,
THEOPHILUS P. CHANDLER,
JOSEPH LYMAN,
SAMUEL MAY,
WILLIAM PERKINS,
GEORGE R. RUSSELL,
WILLIAM M. CORNELL,
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS,
JOSEPH B. THAXTER.

REPORT

OF THE DIRECTOR TO THE TRUSTEES.

Gentlemen, — The reports which have been made
to your Board at the monthly meetings have kept
you familiar with the internal history of the Institu-
tion; and a very brief summary may suffice for the
usual Annual Report.

The past season has been one of quiet and success-
ful operation of our long established system. Our
tried and faithful officers, men and women, have con-
tinued to discharge their several duties satisfactorily ;
and our household, even to the domestics, is one of
known and familiar faces. The same persons go on
from year to year, working harmoniously together, not
merely in view of their hire, but feeling, I think, an
interest in the common end, — the good and the hap-
piness of the Blind, — and desirous of promoting it.
They are mostly of that class of persons, who, in this
country, generally turn from domestic service to occu-
pations which give more freedom for development of
individual character, and more chance for what is
called success in life. The demand for cheap labor is
too often supplied by those who hold their labor cheap.

Iii an establishment like ours, — in every one, in-
deed, which is a home for persons in the tender bud of
youth, — there are, besides those special methods and
appliances which are seen, a multitude of influences
which are not seen, but which are more important
than the public ones, for developing and forming the
character of the inmates. It is not the sunshine and
the shower alone which invigorate the plant, but
there are forces at work beneath the surface, and in
close contact with the very rootlets, that still more
affect its growth and strength. A worm at the root
may be worse than one in the bud. As no office,
however humble, can be filled in a household by a
good person without making others better, so none
can be filled by a corrupt person without making
others worse. Parents of scholars in boarding
schools may know the officers and teachers, but
they cannot well know those who come in constant
contact with the children in the familiar round of
domestic life, and whose power, if for good, must
be greater than that of teachers, but, by the same
stern law, must be greater, too, if for evil. It is apt
to be for evil when one of the bonds of sympathy
between the adult and the child is a common low
plane of knowledge. It therefore becomes those in
charge of public institutions for the nurture of
youth to be careful in the selection of those whom
they employ, even in the humblest offices.

In respect to our household influences, I think we
are, all things considered, peculiarly favored ; and for
this we are mainly indebted to our pains-taking and
self-sacrificing Matron.

The pupils, taken as a whole, are not so much

distinguished as those of some former years for
intellectual activity, but their general conduct has
been good. The infusion of the Celtic element,
though not as yet very large, has perhaps lowered
the average intellectual standard.

The measles invaded the household in a severe
form last Spring, and proved fatal in one case. Two
other pupils died of chronic disease at their homes
in the country ; but, notwithstanding this uncommon
mortality, it has been a season of good health in our
large household. Our nursery has generally been
empty ; our physician's office a sinecure ; and the
apothecary, if dependent on us, would soon find his
occupation gone.

The total number of inmates reported in January,
1856, was one hundred and fourteen. Since then
sixteen have entered, while three have died, and
eighteen have left, leaving the present number one
hundred and nine, of whom twenty-five belong to the
"Work Department, and do not form part of the house-
hold. This number is small in proportion to the
population of those States whence our pupils come.
It is small too in proportion to the capacities of our
Institution, and the scale of our establishment ; for,
with little or no increase of force in the school or
in the household department, a larger number might
be received. Doubtless there are certain advantages
to the pupils in having the number kept down ; and
there are very obvious objections to an overgrown
household.

Judging by the principles which govern kindred
establishments, it is clear that two schools of one
hundred and twenty-five scholars each would be bet-

ter than one of two hundred and fifty. Perhaps,
indeed, the maximum number, taking in view the
best interests of the pupils, would be nearer one
hundred than two hundred. Certain it is, that the
number of pupils should not be too great for the
directing head to have personal, and minute, and
daily knowledge of each member. Our number
clearly falls short of that which, all things consid-
ered, it ought to be ; and measures should be taken
to increase it. The fact that the towns and counties
lying nearest to Boston send the greatest proportion
of pupils, and that the numbers decrease as the dis-
tance increases, shows that we have only to give
greater publicity to the Institution in the remote
sections of New England, to procure an increased
number.

Our Work Department has given steady employ-
ment to the men and women engaged in it, and their
number remains about the same. Without receiving
any gratuity, without any feeling of dependence,
without any restraint except from that law of self-
control which every honest man obeys, these persons,
living where they choose and as they choose, continue
to bear witness in their lives to the wisdom of our
present system, and to its superiority over the former
one. Not one of them, at least not one American,
hard as he is obliged to work, and poor as may be
his fare, would willingly exchange the little home of
his own choosing or making for any public Asylum,
however light might be its restraint, and reasonable
its rulers. Other localities and other circumstances
may require different modes of employing the adult
blind, but I trust none will be introduced into New

.()

England but such as will encourage them to have
homes of their own, to mingle with the world, and
to practise those habits of self-reliance and self-
government which are absolutely essential to manly
character.

The work is conducted in this Department exactly
as in ordinary business establishments. The shop
and sales-room are as distinct from the Institution
proper, as a merchant's factory and sales-room are
from his dwelling-house. There can, therefore, be
no uncertainty about the profit or loss.

Taking one year with another, for the last seven
years, it has cost the Institution to support the Work
Department the interest on the money invested in the
building, and on the capital originally advanced for
purchase of machinery and stock.

There is no yearly charge or allowance from the
general treasury, except four hundred dollars for the
salary of a book-keeper. The profit and loss account
of the shop has varied each year, and the exact
amount has been set forth in each Annual Keport.

During the past year, the sales have been nineteen
thousand seven hundred and twenty-six dollars and
three cents, which is less than the preceding year by
two hundred and thirty-two dollars and fifty-seven
cents. The amount paid in cash to blind men and
women, as wages for their work, was four thousand
one hundred and fourteen dollars and ninety-four
cents, or seven hundred and ninety-seven dollars and
thirteen cents more than in 1855.

Music continues to form a prominent branch of
our system of instruction, and the pupils have given
much attention to the study and practice of it during
2

the past year. There has manifestly been a revival of
the enthusiasm for music which characterized our
establishment many years ago. The pupils are will-
ing not only to i3lay, but to work.

"While on this subject, it may be well to revert to
an evil mentioned in a former Report ; and, as the
evil is not yet entirely cured, to repeat what was then
said, in the hope that by the wider spread of correct
views the public may learn that discrimination with-
out which they are apt, while giving alms, to sow tares
which may spring up and plague posterity.

" It has always been part of our system to give to
music a prominent place in our course of instruction.

" The same policy has been observed in most of the
kindred schools in the United States, so that there are
now a considerable number of blind persons who
have been taught vocal and instrumental music.
Some of them, having natural gifts, have by great
diligence attained considerable skill, and lead useful
lives" as organists, tuners of pianos, or teachers of
music. In this way the debt to the public is par-
tially repaid.

" Like most good things, however, this general edu-
cation of the blind, and especially their instruction in
music, is liable to abuse, and it is sometimes followed
by an evil which will continue some time, and then
probably correct itself. The generous gift of music
made by the public to the blind is sometimes met
with an ungrateful return ; as when the public is
pestered by strolling bands of blind musicians, who
have no especial talent but that of assurance, and
who take advantage of the ready sympathy which
their infirmity excites, and get money for music

which is so poor that it would hardly be listened
to, certainly not paid for, if perpetrated by ordinary
persons.

" There may be some strollers who really merit
attention and encouragement as public performers,
but they must be very rare exceptions. Some, too,
may be driven into this pursuit by what seems stern
necessity ; and they are to be pitied. But for the
most part they are persons disinclined to regular and
industrious occupation, — persons of idle habits, who
love to rove about and frequent taverns, — who delight
to excite attention in villages and be the object of
public interest. The life they lead is necessarily de-
moralizing to themselves, and worse than useless to
others. Blind persons, especially young women, who
respect themselves and regard the class to which they
belong, will shrink from a course which is hardly
better than licensed beggary.

" Such strolling bands should seldom be encouraged
by the public. The money which is given from a
feeling of sympathy can seldom be of real use, for
the strollers cannot long earn a living by such a
course. They must go from place to place, and de-
pend upon the interest excited by the novelty of the
exhibition ; and when this is over, they are left worse
off than they were before, because unfitted by the de-
moralizing nature of their occupation for quiet and
steady industry."

" Sometimes, however, the public should sternly
rebuke blind strollers, for they raise money by falsely
pretending that they are authorized to do so by pub-
lic institutions, or that they are going to print books,
or to do something else for the benefit of the blind

generally. In this way many impose upon super-
intendents of railroads, and keepers of hotels, and
travel scot-free.

" It should be as widely known as the press can
make it, that the generous sympathy of the public
with the blind has been and still is grossly abused,
not only by strolling blind musicians, but by un-
worthy individuals, who, as agents, as lecturers, and
even as preachers, raise money, and live in free quar-
ters, by falsely pretending that they are laboring for
the good of their fellows in misfortune. Many a
church, and even pulpits, have been polluted by the
presence of such men."

Our press has continued to add its contributions
to the scanty literature to which the Blind can have
access, without the help of those who see. A
Third Reading-Book for beginners has been printed ;
also Diderot's Essay. We have now in press, Combe
on the Constitution of Man.

The work of printing for the blind must be very
slow and expensive. It cannot flourish as a com-
mercial enterprise. There cannot be any money
made out of it. There is, indeed, a desire for the
books among a large class of persons, but there
is no commercial demand, because the blind are
proverbially poor. We have occasional orders from
individuals in this country and in England. The
principal demand, however, is from the public institu-
tions of the United States, and this is altogether too
small to give any commercial stimulus. The whole
amount of our sales last year was only five hundred
and sixty-one dollars. Even this probably was much
more than the amount of sales by any other establish-

ment in this country. From what I can learn of
European institutions, it seems that none of them
make any considerable sales. Indeed, printing for
the blind there is, in most cases, a mere matter of
show. It proves what may be done for the blind,
but does not much toward accomplishing it.

The work, however, will not always languish.
There may be some contrivance by which sounds
shall be represented in tangible characters, and in
a form so compact, as to reduce the size of books
to a mere fraction of their present enormous bulk.
But more probably the matter will attract the at-
tention of some beneficent and wealthy person,
who will see that money invested in this enter-
prise will bring forth fruit of blessing an hundred
fold.

Until then, we must work .patiently on, each
one in his humble way doing all he can to pro-
mote the desired object, and confident that, sooner
or latter, by means now seen or unseen, there will
be a Library for the Blind worthy the name.

The usual inventories and accounts are herewith
submitted.

Respectfully,

S. G. HOWE.

APPENDIX

GENERAL ABSTRACT OF THE
Dr. Tlie Perkins Institution for the Blind in

For amount paid, at sundry dates, on orders of Auditors,
for various disbursements for expenses, as per account

rendered, $ 17,963.51

Interest on Mr. Stover's mortgage, .... 90.00

Balance to new account, 1,193.85

$ 19,247.36

TREASURER'S REPORT FOR 1856.

Account with T. B. Wales, Treasurer.

Cr.

S 780.47

By Cash from old account,

" Four quarterly payments of Appropriation by State of

Massachusetts, 12,000.00

Amt. received from State Rhode Island for Pupils, $ 732.96

" " Vermont, "

1,160.00

" " South Carolina, "

226.00

" " Connecticut, "

1,745.17

" " Maine, "

731.05

" private pupils,

108.50

1{\'-> CQ

4,.

for books, apparatus, &c. from

Louisiana Institution for Blind,

82.50

from Ohio " "

21.00

" Georgia, " "

52.12

" Illinois " "

66.00

" New York " "

75.50

" E. Winfield, .

2.00

" Mr. Heady,

195.00

" E. Deering, .

3.00

" A. C. Barnes & Co. .

24.99

" sundry persons,

. 48.60

570.71

" dividends on stocks,

942.50

" William Oliver's estate, .

250.00

$ 19,247.36

Boston, Dec. 31, 1856.

Boston, 10th January, 1857.

The undersigned, a committee appointed to examine the accounts of
the Treasurer of the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for
the Blind for the year 1856, have attended to that duty, and hereby cer-
tify that they find the accounts to be properly vouched and correctly
cast, and the balance to be eleven hundred ninety-three dollars ^ , say
$1193.85.

The Treasurer also exhibited to us evidence of the following property
belonging to the Institution : —

9 Shares in New England Bank, . . $ 900.00

17 " State Bank, .... 1,020.00

25 " TremontBank, .... 2,500.00
12 " Columbian, .... 1,200.00

10 " Boston and Providence Railroad, 900.00

50 " Western Eailroad, . . 4,812.50

10 " Boston and Maine Railroad, . 1,045.00

25 '< Concord Railroad, . . . 1,250.00

$13,627.50

Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased June, 1840, $755.68

Deed of Land in S.Boston, purchased March, 1847, 5,000.00

Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased Sept. 1845, 5,500.00

Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased Jan. 1850, 1,762.50

Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased July, 1854, 1,020.25

Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased May, 1855, 3,710.00

Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased Aug. 1855, 450.00

Deed of Land in S. Boston, purchased April, 1855, 1,311.50

19,509.93

$33,137.43

Joseph N. Howe,

T T ( Committee.

James Lodge,

LIST OF BOOKS

PRINTED AT THE

PERKINS INSTITUTION AND MASSACHUSETTS
ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

WITH PRICES * OP SUCH AS ARE FOR SALE.

Lardner's Universal History,
Howe's Geography, .

" Atlas of the Islands,
English Reader, First Part,

" " Second Part,

The Harvey Boys,
The Pilgrim's Progress,
Baxter's Call, .
English Grammar,
Life of Melancthon, .
Constitution of the United States
Book of Diagrams,
Viri Romas, ....
Peirce's Geometry, with Diagrams,
Political Class-Book,
First Table of Logarithms,
Second " "

Principles of Arithmetic,
Astronomical Dictionary,
Philosophy of Natural History,
Rudiments of Natural Philosophy
Cyclopaedia,

The Book of Common Prayer,
Guide to Devotion,
New Testament (Small),
New " (Large), .

Old " ...

Book of Psalms,

" Proverbs,
Psalms in Verse,
Psalms and Hymns,
The Dairyman's Daughter,

" Spelling-Book,

" Sixpenny Glass of Wine,
Howe's Blind Child's Manual,

" First Book,
" " " Second Part,

" " Third Part,

Collection of Hymns for the Blind,
Milton's Poetical Works, .
Diderot's Essay,

Total number,

No. of
Volumes.

2
1

Price per
Volume.
$3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
2.00
3.00
3.00
2.00
2.00
2.00
2.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
2.00
3.00
2.00
2.00
3.00
3.00
3.00

1.50
1.50

2.00
3.00
3.00
3.00

* It lias been found advisable to advance the price from that of former years

TEEMS OF ADMISSION.

Young blind persons, of good moral character, can be admitted
to the School by paying $ 200 per annum. This sum covers all
expenses, except for clothing ; namely, board, washing, medicines,
the use of books, musical instruments, &c. The pupils must fur-
nish their own clothing, and pay their own fares to and from the
Institution. The friends of the pupils can visit them whenever
they choose.

Indigent blind persons, of suitable age and character, belonging
to Massachusetts, can be admitted gratuitously, by application to
the Governor for a warrant.

The following is a good form, though any other will do : —

" To his Excellency the Governor :

" Sir, — My son, (or daughter, or nephew, or niece, as the case
may be,) named A. B., and aged , cannot be instructed in the
common schools for want of sight. I am unable to pay for the
tuition at the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the
Blind, and I request that your Excellency will grant a warrant for
free admission.

" Very respectfully, ."

The application may be made by any relation or friend, if the
parents are dead or absent.

It should be accompanied by a certificate from one or more of
the Selectmen of the town, or Aldermen of the city, in this form : —

" I hereby certify, that, in my opinion, Mr. is not a

wealthy person, and that he cannot afford to pay $ 200 per annum
for his child's instruction.

(Signed,) " ."

There should also be a certificate, signed by some regular phy-
sician, in this form : —

" I certify, that, in my opinion, has not sufficient

vision to be taught in common schools ; and that he is free from
epilepsy, and from any contagious disease.

(Signed,) " ."

These papers should be done up together, and directed to " The
Secretary of State, State-House, Boston, Mass."

An obligation will be required from some responsible person,
that the pupil shall be removed without expense to the Institution,
whenever it may be desirable to discharge him.

The usual period of tuition is from five to seven years.

Indigent blind persons residing in Maine, New Hampshire, Ver-
mont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and South Carolina, by applying
as above to the " Commissioners for the Blind," care of the Sec-
retary of State in the respective States, can obtain warrants of free
admission.

For further particulars, address Dr. S. G. Howe, Director of the
Institution for the Blind, Boston, Mass.

The relations or friends of the blind who may be sent to the
Institution are requested to furnish information in answer to the
following questions : —

1. What is the age of the applicant ?

2. Where was he born ?

3. Was he born blind ?

4. If not born blind, at what age did he become so ?

5. What is the supposed cause of the blindness ?

6. Have there been any cases of blindness, or deafness, or in-
sanity, in the family of the applicant, among his brothers and sis-
ters, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, or cousins ?

8. Were the parents or the grandparents of the applicant related
to each other by blood ? If so, in what degree ?

OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION

FOR 1857.

PRESIDENT.

EDWARD BROOKS.

VICE-PRESIDENT.

STEPHEN FAIRBANKS.

TREASURER.

THOMAS B. WALES.

SECRETARY.

SAMUEL G. HOWE.

TRUSTEES.

THOMAS G. CARY,

THEOPHILUS P. CHANDLER,

GEORGE B. EMERSON,

JOSEPH LYMAN,

SAMUEL MAY,

WILLIAM PERKINS,

GEORGE R. RUSSELL,

JAMES STURGIS,

WILLIAM M. CORNELL,

STEPHEN FAIRBANKS, I In behalf of the

JOSEPH B. THAXTER, Jr., f State.

WILLIAM D. TICKNOR, J

In behalf of the
Corporation.

PUBLIC DOCUMENT No. 14.

TWENTY-SIXTH

ANNUAL REPORT

flassacjntsdis ^sgfom fax % $Ihfo,

FOB THE TEAB ENDING

DECEMBER 31, 1857.

BOSTON:

WILLIAM WHITE, PRINTER TO THE STATE.

1858.

REPORTOE THE TRUSTEES.

Perkins" Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, >
Boston, January 11, 1858. £

To the Corporators : —

Gentlemen, — The undersigned, in conformity with law and
custom, respectfully submit a general Report of the condition
of the institution during the past year.

For more particular details they refer you to the Report
of the Director and Treasurer, wiiich are inclosed.

The average number of blind persons connected with the
institution has been 124 ; of whom 90 have been pupils in
course of instruction, and 24 have been connected with the
workshop department. They have been employed in the
manner so often set forth in our previous Reports.

No changes have been made in the general system of man-
agement, for none have been found necessary. Neither has
any change been made of the persons who have the immediate
charge of the institution, and who are therefore mainly respon-
sible for the successful working of the ssytem upon which it is
administered. They have continued to discharge their several
duties in a satisfactory manner.

The Trustees of course can exercise only general supervision.
They must rely mainly upon the integrity of agents ; and long-
trial under proper supervision, is of course the best test of
this.

Mr. Thomas B. Wales has kindly continued to act as Trea-
surer. The gratuitous services of this gentleman are valuable
to the institution.

During the year the question has been raised whether it
would not be wise to remove the institution from its present

4 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Jan.

location to a more favorable one in the country. The Trustees
have given the question some consideration.

The removal from the city proper to South Boston was,
doubtless, a wise one ; but many considerations similar to
those which made that removal desirable, may now be urged
in favor of another.

Eighteen years have produced a great change in the neigh-
borhood. The open fields have been cut up by streets, and
there is a dense population where there was then but a very
sparse one.

The extraordinary alteration in the plan for grade of streets
by the city government occasioned pecuniary loss, for which
the subsequent appropriation of $10,000 as damages, did by no
means afford indemnity. Moreover, by undermining and des-
troying, not only our stone stable but the site on which it
stood, and by cutting off entirely all access to the main build-
ing from the east, and making the entrance in front very incon-
venient and tedious, it involved disadvantages which no outlay
of money can effectually remedy. The yard and play-ground,
instead of being left nearly on a level with surrounding streets,
are now perched some fifty feet above them, and supported
by steep and costly embankments, the entire slope of which are
an abatement of the extent of our premises.

There is also a great disappointment with regard to water.
The anticipated supply from the Cochituate has not been
realized. It will never rise above the basement, and in dry
times it has to be coaxed even thus far. Sometimes it fails
entirely in the daytime ; and no water is to be had except
from the cisterns where it has accumulated by night.

Of course there can be no sufficient supply for extinguishing
a fire should one unfortunately occur in the upper part of
the building.

Other weighty considerations have been set forth by the
Director, which underlie the whole subject of the education
and treatment of the blind.

But on the other hand, many important considerations may
be urged in favor of retaining the present location. The
attention attracted to the institution by a great number of
benevolent persons, the convenience of its inspection by the
public, by the legislature, and all the authorities, and by

1858.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 14. 5

the Trustees themselves, are in favor of its metropolitan
location. The uncertainty about the permanence of the present
location has made the Trustees unwilling to incur the expense
of some improvements which are loudly called for; such, for
instance, as a proper and efficient apparatus for warming
and ventilating the building.

They recommend the whole matter as one worthy the serious
attention of their successors.

The Trustees feel bound to call the especial attention of
the corporation to the orderly and neat condition of the
buildings and premises of the institution. This reflects credit
upon all who have it in charge. It is also most gratifying
to remark that the spirit which seems everywhere to prevail in
the conduct of this establishment is that of a well-ordered,
harmonious home, and that the aim of its management evi-
dently is to supply to the pupils those kindly domestic influences
so important in the education of all young persons.

The Trustees believe that a proper economy has been ob-
served in this as well as in former years, in the management of
your pecuniary affairs. All the accounts for expenditures are
audited monthly by a committee especially appointed for the
purpose ; and the Treasurer pays no money except upon their
order. The disbursements have been as small as the approved
system of the household, schools and workshop would permit.
The necessary care, supervision and attendance upon the pupils
always require more than ordinary expenses. Moreover, the
work-shop as well as the school has been conducted, not so much
upon the principle that it should be profitable, as upon the
more humane idea that those who are willing to work and
be useful should be placed in positions where they can do so,
and in which to the extent of their power they may attain an
independence.

Besides making all proper expenditures for the instruction
and the welfare of the blind of our own Commonwealth,
a liberal policy has been adopted in various matters which
touch the interests of the blind as a class.

No advantage has been taken of the condition, in the annual
grant from Massachusetts, by which the number of beneficiaries
might be limited to forty, but all applicants of proper age
and qualifications have been admitted.

6 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Jan.

In printing for the blind, the institution has incurred great
expenses, the advantages of which must be felt by all the
institutions in the country, and by hundreds of blind persons
who have been taught, but who could never obtain books, if in
addition to actual cost, the price were enhanced by the addition
of the usual profits made in trade.

The several inventories of real and personal estate required
by law, are herewith submitted for the inspection of the
corporation.

In conclusion, the Trustees commend the institution to the
kind consideration of the corporation, the legislature, and the
public generally.

Signed by

JOSEPH LYMAN,
WM. D. TICKNOR,

For the Trustees.

THOMAS G. CARY.
THEOPHILUS P. CHANDLER.
SAMUEL MAY.
WM. PERKINS.
GEORGE R. RUSSELL.
JAMES STURGISS.
WM. M. CORNELL.
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS.
JOSEPH B. THAXTER, Jb.

1858.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 14.

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR.

Perkins' Institution, and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, \
Boston, January 11, 1858. |

To the Trustees : —

Gentlemen, — I have the honor to submit the following Report
for the past year : —

The number of inmates reported January 1st, 1857, was 109.
Since then 26 have been admitted, 19 have left, and 2 have
died, leaving the present number 114, of whom 24 are in the
work department.

The monthly reports which have been made to your Board,
and the visits of your committees, have kept you acquainted
with the condition of the Institution, so that no detailed report
thereupon need now be made.

There have been no material changes among the persons em-
ployed as teachers, or among the assistants in the household de-
partment. Within a certain limit, length of time in service
makes a person more valuable. Our pupils are mostly of the
tender age when the domestic affections are putting forth their
tendrils, and require something to cling around. A boarding-
school should be made a substitute for home, as nearly as it can be.
But there can be none of the feelings of a home where there are
constant changes in the members of the household. What old
familiar landmarks are to those who see, old, familiar voices are
to the blind.

We have been fortunate, therefore, in keeping most of our
teachers and members of the household for many successive
years, and still more fortunate in having so many who hold
their places as much from love of the work as from love of its
hire.

8 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Jan.

The course of instruction marked out so many years ago, has
been followed steadily during the past year, and with satisfac-
tory success.

Reading by raised letters, and writing by the mode peculiar
to the blind ; arithmetic by help of tangible figures or types, and
geography by raised maps and globes, constitute what is really
peculiar in the mode of instruction in our school, and in
others of the same kind. They differ, besides, from common
schools in the greater amount of instruction conveyed by oral
teaching.

Nothing farther is aimed at in the way of direct instruction
than giving knowledge of the English branches taught in our
best common schools. In these, considerable proficiency and
great thoroughness are attainable by the blind.

There is, however, an unusual amount of mental activity
among the pupils ; and they learn a great deal from books,
periodicals and newspapers, which are read to them out of
school hours. They devour these with insatiable appetite, and
their demand for more is greater than the supply which can be
safely given. Such reading, like the fruit and sweetmeats after
a solid repast, is apt to be taken too freely, and rather because
it is palatable than because it is wanted.

When the desire for things wTholesome, whether for the body
or the mind, begins to pall, it is pretty certain that rest is
wanted, rather than condiments and stimulants to whip up the
flagging appetite. Great care should be taken with the young
blind not to increase indisposition to bodily activity by over
supply of mental stimulus. After school a rush for the play-
ground is a healthier indication than a rush for the piano or for
the newspaper.

Great attention is paid to music as a branch of instruction.
The object is to develop the musical sense in all the pupils, and
to give to them such knowledge of vocal and instrumental
music as may be a source of pleasure to themselves and a bond
of sympathy with others.

All, therefore, who can acquire the rudiments of a musical
education, have opportunity and encouragement to do so.
Some, however, cannot do even this.

It is maintained by some educationists that the capacity for
development of the musical sense is almost universal, and that

1858.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 14. 9

it is as rare to find a person who cannot attain the rudiments of
musical education, that is, one who lacks utterly the musical
sense, as it is to find one who is horn deaf. This may he true
of certain races in the present state of their civilization.

It is also a common notion that the blind possess the musical
sense more generally than those who see ; but it is probably a
mistaken one. The sense may be, and is more generally
developed ; but this is because their condition naturally leads
them to cultivate it more assiduously. I am inclined to think
that total lack of the sense among the blind is more common
than among an equal number of those who see.

Be this as it may, our endeavor is to give to all a tolerable
knowledge of the theory and practice of vocal and instrumental
music, and the success is considerable, because the blind give
themselves passionately to the pursuit.

Some do this not only for the pleasure which it gives, hut
witli a view to making music the means of earning a livelihood.

There is a common and very natural mistake about this,
arising from the fact that so many of the ordinary callings of
life cannot be followed by the blind, and of course they press
towards the few in which there is no invincible obstacle to their
success, and even to their eminence. An honorable ambition,
therefore, often inspires the pupils to become teachers of music.

There is in all schools for the blind an undue pressure for
musical instruction. They look upon the profession of music
much as passengers, when forced to quit a ship at sea, look to
the life boat, as the one which promises the best chance of a safe
voyage.

It is not sufficiently borne in mind that many qualifications,
rarely united in one person, must combine in order to make a
good instructor, and that a man should rather gain a livelihood
by being a good broom maker than a poor teacher.

The calling of teacher is a natural one, and requires peculiar
natural gifts. Now nature never supplies superfluous ma-
terials ; but to every generation due proportion of those fitted
for natural callings.

To become a good teacher of music, one must have by nature

an uncommon share of musical sensibility. But this is not all.

He must have, also, those rarer endowments which are necessary

for becoming a good musician and performer, but which are not

10 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Jan.

given to all who have musical sensibility. And, after all he must
have those still rarer mental and moral endowments which are
essential for drawing out the musical sensibility of others, and
imparting to them his own knowledge.

Probably not more than one man so endowed can be found
in a population of several thousand ordinary persons ; how
unreasonable, then, to expect to find a score of such in every
scho3l for the blind, that has but a hundred pupils !

Such considerations have to be borne in mind by directors of
schools for blind, in order to enable them to resist the tendency
of the pupils to crowd toward a calling in which but few are
qualified to succeed, and to shape the course of instruction so
as to guide them towards other callings.

Two of the pupils died during the past year at their homes in
the country, and there have been several cases of rather severe
indisposition here. The standard of health as compared with
that among an equal number of ordinary persons, has been low ;
but as compared with an equal number of blind persons, it has
not been so ; for it must be admitted by all familiar with the
subject that the standard of health is lower among the blind
than among others of the same age, and this for obvious reasons.

One object in the government of a school for the blind,
should be to elevate the general standard of health among the
pupils. Nor is this object a vain one ; for, doubtless, we may
lessen in various ways the obstacles which blindness opposes to
the gratification of the natural tendency of the young to sports
and gambols which serve to develop and strengthen the body.
While childhood lasts, indeed, the stock of animal spirits is so
great that it easily overcomes the obstacle, and keeps up con-
siderable activity in spite of falls, and bumps, and awkward
hits ; so that if we give blind children room and verge enough,
and leave them to themselves, they do pretty well in the way of
exercise. They will even achieve as much in the way of pranks
and mischief as any reasonable person could expect.

A house, however, does not afford supply for the demand ; its
resources are soon exhausted, even if all the material be not
used up and destroyed. We must therefore encourage sports
and games in the open air, by various appliances, in order to
secure the advantages of this valuable season for bodily training.

1858.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 14. 11

When other boys go out into the great training school to take
their lessons with ball, or hoop, or skates, we should not try to
compensate the blind boy by exercising his mind, even over
pleasant stories, but send him out too, and contrive some way
in which he can sweeten his exercise by a wholesome mixture
of play. The inclemency of the climate is a great obstacle
in our way. The languid circulation which characterizes the
blind makes them sensitive to cold, and cold increases the
languor. This must be fought against resolutely. It seems a
hard rule to shut children out of the house upon a cold day,
and to bar the doors upon them inexorably during the recesses,
yet such course is found to be really useful.

Do what we may however, it will be found usually that the
average of health and of longevity is less among the blind than
among those who see, and it behooves us to consider earnestly,
and to discuss opeidy, the causes thereof. They will be found
mainly to be two.

First, the bodily organism had less vital force from the very
germ. The springs of life were not so stiff; they wrere not
wound to run so steadily or so long.

Next, sight more than all the other senses, invites to bodily
activity, and the lack of this sense leads to neglect of that per-
petual activity of body and limb which is necessary not only for
grace and beauty, but even for healthy growth and development.

The first of these causes is of course beyond our reach,
at least so far as the present generation is concerned. The
second, however, is within human control. We may do much
to counteract it by organized effort and systematic training,
provided, however, we can bring the importance of the matter
home to the hearts and minds of the blind themselves, so
as to secure their zealous cooperation. Without that we can do
little; for such is the subtle though close relation between
the moral and physical nature, that even exercise and training
of the body, in order to be most beneficial must be spontaneous
and pleasant.

It is not enough, however, that we attract children by new
contrivances, new games, and the like; and that we add to the
attraction our own personal interest in them, for these cannot
be perpetual ; and when they cease, and the pupils grow from
childhood to youth, they relapse into habits of bodily inactivity.

12 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Jan.

The blind incline to this almost as much as persons chilled
by cold incline to sit down and go to sleep; and though
the consequence is not so immediate and fearful, it is certain
and lamentable; for life is shortened, and made less useful and
happy.

We should therefore strive to convince the understanding of
those whose good we seek, and prove to them that their true
interest, even more than that of other persons, demands close
observance of the laws of health.

If to the dictates of the reason we can add those of the
moral and religious sense, the success will be greater. The
still small voice of this sense is seldom heard by the young in
the tumultuous rush of their animal spirits ; but it will be
more readily heard by the blind, because they feel less of
this tumult, and because the moral and religious nature is
more easily developed in them.

We should therefore try to form a public opinion among
them upon these matters ; and perhaps no better way is
now open for this than through the only kind of literature
peculiarly devoted to them — that of the periodical reports
of schools for their special instruction.

Considerations may be urged in them which would be
out of place in ordinary reports, which are merely a sort
of " account rendered."

It is conceivable, and certainly it is most desirable, that
the blind as a class may be brought up to the average standard
among seeing persons, of vital force, and perhaps even of
longevity ; because they may make amends for original defects
by strict obedience to those laws which others perpetually
violate, and are pretty certain to violate for generations to
come. It is with health and vigor, somewhat as it is with
money; a seemingly unlimited supply in youth leads to ex-
travagance and waste. We learn to spend more than our
daily income, and of course lessen by so much the capital
stock. There is this difference, however, in favor of money,
we may possibly make up for losses by great efforts and
by good luck ; but an over-draft upon the constitution can
never be compensated by any effort; and Nature knows no
such thing as luck,' nor tolerates any game of chance. No,
the amount of original stock cannot be increased, for the

1858.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 14. 13

casket which holds it contracts when undue subtraction is
made and will not expand again ; so that of course the future
yield must be less.

Common as is the sin of over-draft upon the constitution, and
venial as it is held even by good men, it can never be
pardoned — that is, separated from its consequences, any more
than other sins, because God never permits that what has been
shall not have been.

The poverty then of the blind, in respect to original capital
stock of vital force, may perhaps be made to accrue to their
advantage, so far as comparison with others go, provided they
can be educated to understand the laws of health and to obey
them. Their attention should be early turned to the study of
physiology, and particularly those of its laws which bear espe-
cially upon persons in their situation. In the workings of the
machinery of life, the blind are apt to be caught and pinched
in two ways, as will be seen by attention to certain physiological
principles, the workings of which I shall attempt to set forth
briefly and familiarly.

In order to preserve the freshness and health of the body, we
must observe the law which commands constant and rapid
change of its integral particles. We die daily, whether we will
or no. But the extent to which we are born again daily,
depends much upon ourselves. The component particles of
the body have but an ephemeral existence. Hundreds of
generations of them go to make up our individual life. Mul-
titudes of them are dying every hour and every moment ; and
fresh particles are constantly formed to replace them.

But this incoming multitude cannot have room and verge
enough except the worn out and effete particles are thrown off.
Away then with the dead to make room for the living ! This
is the law ; and fortunately we cannot disobey it totally, because
part of the work is done independently of our volition, and dis-
obedience to it would be death to the whole body. The removal
is effected, that is, the waste particles are carried off by various
and complex organs of respiration, perspiration and the like,
but the pervading characteristic of all is motion.

Motion is not only essential to life, but in one sense it is life
itself. Arrest of all motion among the particles of the body,
though but momentary, (as by lightning, perhaps,) is death; and

14 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Jan.

after the briefest instant of real death there cannot be a return to
life, any more than there can be a return of motion to a cannon
ball that has been brought to a stand still ; since the momentum
in both has been destroyed. Nature, therefore, has not trusted
so precious a thing as life to the will of man, but has secured
motion enough for its continuance by automatic arrangements,
which are beyond his control. Every throb of the breast,
every inspiration of the lungs, every twinkle of an eyelid, —
nay, every passage of a thought is accompanied by motion,
change, and waste.

But though nature does not put the lamp of life into a man's
hand, to be carried in constant fear of its going out from acci-
dent or neglect, though she makes sure that it shall burn, she
says that whether it burns brightly or dimly, whether briefly or
long, must depend upon himself. She gives automatic motion
enough to secure life, but he must supply voluntary motion
enough to secure health and long life.

The automatic motions remove only part of the effete atoms of
the body. Voluntary motion must do the rest, or they remain
and clog the system. If people were fully aware of this, how
much more briskly would they move about, to get quickly rid
of this dead matter. But how frantically would they fly about,
if, instead of carrying the effete particles of their own bodies,
each one was obliged to carry, as a burden, the dead particles of
some other person. They would die of horror and disgust.
As it is, however, very few are conscious of this operation ; and
thousands in civilized life carry about with sweet complacency
their own dead atoms, mixed up with the living ones. They
grow feebler and feebler as the proportion of effete matter
grows greater, and that of fresh living matter less, until at last
partial death becomes total death.

Now so long as the dead and effete particles are carried off
by the various excretions, just as rapidly as new and fresh ones
are formed by wholesome nutrition, so long are we young and
fresh. During the first third of life the vital force is very great,
and though the supply through nutrition must exceed waste, in
order that there may be growth and consolidation of the body,
still the waste is very rapid also. New particles rush in swiftly,
cast out the dead ones vigorously and utterly, so that the bodies
of the young are fresh and alive all over. The swift moving

1858.] TUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 14. 15

machinery of life throws the blood out to every part of the sur-
face, and tinges the firm elastic flesh with roseate hue. As long
as this condition lasts, youth lasts, be the number of years what
they may.

The duration of the period depends, first, upon the amount of
vital force with which the body was endowed in the germ. Two
persons may live the same sort of life, and yet one will cease
to be young and fresh at twenty, while the other continues so
at forty. The stock of vital force is usually smaller in women
than in men. It is usually smaller in those born blind than in
other persons.

Second, the stock being about the same, the duration of youth
depends upon obedience or disobedience of the laws of life.
All excesses shorten it. Too much and too little work of
brain and limb curtail it. It is shorter in women than in men,
mainly because their blood is not duly oxygenated by exercise
or work in the open air. It is usually much shorter in the
blind than in those who see. In a class of a hundred blind
youths there are very few who have the beautiful character-
istics of this period of life — the roseate hue, the rounded
limb, the bounding step ; and even among those few these
beauties fade away earlier than among others.

During the next period of life the balance between waste and
supply is established ; and the system ought to be in its greatest
vigor and efficiency, and in undiminished beauty. It is so,
indeed, all through the animal creation, (with one exception,)
because in all animals, as the demand for new particles by the
system is lessened so the supply is lessened, and there is no
crowding by new particles ; and because the necessary supply
of food must be obtained by voluntary motion in exercise.
Animals work for their living ; but do not toil for it. The excep-
tion is in the case of man. With man the appetites are more
subject to volition, and more under the influence of habit. As his
organization is higher, so the pleasurable sensations attendant
upon supply — that is, taking food, are greater, and he generally
strives to stimulate the flagging demand by cunning cookery.

Exercise too, being pretty much under his volition, is apt to
be neglected, and so the waste and effete particles are not duly
carried off. At first they linger a little in the system ; then
they linger longer. There now begin to be dead and effete

16 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Jan.

particles among the living ones, and the system begins to be
a little clogged thereby. From this moment real manhood
declines, and real age begins, be the years of life ever so few.
The spring of life having lost a little of its force, the blood is
no longer thrown vigorously out to the periphery of the body ; it
therefore crowds the great internal vessels, and prepares the way
for congestion and organic diseases. The surface becomes a little
pale. The flesh loses its elasticity. It looks puttyish and feels
flabby. Freshness is now gone ; and with it beauty. Adieu
youth, adieu manhood; age is here.

This change is seen sooner in women than in men. Sooner
in the blind than in others. Most women in this country are
as old at thirty, or thirty-five, as they should be at forty-five or
fifty. Suppose the years lost by each one to be only ten, what
millions of years of bloom, and beauty, and vigor, are lost to
each generation ! But how can we calculate the billions of
years lost to the next generation by reason of the diminished
stock of vital force imparted to the offspring !

Other principles of physiology which underlie the laws of
hygiene should be kept in view by those who manage insti-
tutions for the young; but these are the ones which bear with
peculiar force upon those who lack sight, and neglect of which
involves evil consequences that are not the necessary and
inevitable effects of blindness.

The work department for adult men and women has been
conducted on the same principle of entire separation from
the junior department which has been found so satisfactory in
former years. The persons employed have the same relation to
the institution that ordinary workmen do to factories and
similar establishments. Nothing more is required of them than
is required in all well regulated workshops. They must come
punctually to their work, and continue at it diligently during
work hours. After that they go their own ways to their several
homes. No supervision is exercised over them, and nothing
more required of them than the maintenance of good moral
character.

At the end of each month they are paid whatever they have
earned.

This system gives them more personal independence, more

1858.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 14. 17

freedom from restraint, and more opportunity for finding their
places in general society, than is possible where they are
associated in one establishment. It certainly is less open to the
objection, (not a mere theoretical one,) which is brought
against establishments for persons suffering under a common
defect or infirmity, namely, that they unduly congregate
together those who should be separated and diffused in general
society.

The principle which underlies this is so important that
it may be referred to a,t the risk of repetition.

Every departure from a normal condition of body has a
tendency to draw after it unfavorable consequences which
extend even to the moral nature. If this tendency is not
checked, it develops moral peculiarities which become char-
acteristic of the class of persons who labor under the defect or
infirmity. Classes or castes are thus formed, and clannish feel-
ings are engendered. A feeling of sympathy, which is not
natural, but which grows out of the common defect, draws such
persons together. Now, the result of too close association is to
intensify all the moral peculiarities growing out of the abnormal
condition.

Such result is surely undesirable. The effects of it are seen
in various classes of the unfortunate ; as those who study these
classes know but too well.

If any suppose that the blind are exempt from the workings
of this general law, they will be convinced of their error
by close observation of those large European establishments in
which hundreds of adult blind persons live together. The
prevalent spirit there is any thing but desirable or amiable.

Happily the abnormal tendency in the blind is so slight that
no considerable evil need result from it, provided it is not
intensified by close and long association together. Slight as it
is, however, it exists, and deserves the attention of all who
would build up institutions upon sound principles.

The best corrective of this tendency is to separate and dif-
fuse the blind in general society. It is the one, also, which will
most surely promote their real happiness in life.

A conviction of the truth of these principles, and of their
practical importance, has made me for many years a strenuous
opponent of establishments in which large numbers of adult
3

18 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Jan.

blind are to be gathered together for permanent residence. The
tendency of such establishments, if successful, is to grow;
and in a few. generations they would become unendurable.

I would have all of the adult blind who can by any possibility
live apart in general society, do so ; and for those who cannot, I
would provide in the manner least opposed to the principles
above indicated. '

I would have them associated together for work, so far
as such association is necessary; but not associated for any
domestic or social purposes.

That would seem to be a higher form of social charity which
would take the blind into the bosom of society, wherever the lines
had fallen to them, and lessen as far as possible the peculiarities
growing out of their defect by giving them constant and close
association with those who see, than that which would put
them out from among us— which would gather them together in
common establishments, and constitute them a class apart.

I am happy to say that the practical result of our establish-
ment for supplying adult blind with work has been most
satisfactory. Between twenty and thirty have been enabled to
earn their own livelihood, and to enjoy a feeling of independence,
while the actual cost to the institution is very small. In a few
years more it will probably be nothing.

It would have been very easy to increase the number of
workmen by raising the rate of wages ; but sound policy forbids
holding out any inducements which will draw to the city those
who by dint of great effort can get along in the country.

An apparently severe policy in this respect, which keeps the
rate of wages so low that great industry and diligence are
necessary in order to pay their board, has kept our numbers
down and left only real workers in our shop. It has perhaps
forced many to rely upon their own efforts, and upon their
friends in the country, who would otherwise have leaned upon

us.

There may have been cases where the rule worked hard,
but upon the whole the results have been good. The present
indications, however, are that with our increasing number of
graduates it will be necessary to increase the number of adult
workmen to perhaps fifty.

In a business point of view the shop has done well the

1858.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 14. 19

last year, considering the times. The sales were $19,369.99,
or $360.04 less than in 1856.

The wages paid to blind men and women amounted to
$3,411.00, or 57.49 less than 1856.*

The work of printing for the blind has been continued
steadily, though not upon a large scale.

That very important work, " Combe upon the Constitution of
Man," has been printed and is now in use. It is a book written
in a truly philosophical, but also a religious spirit. It requires
close study, but is deeply interesting, and will prove a valuable
addition to the library for the blind. A new book of simple
exercises for children, making the third of the series, has also
been printed.

The account of the shop and other details will be found
in appropriate appendixes.

Respectfully submitted by

S. G. HOWE.

* An error crept into the last Report, by including the wages of some
seeino- persons in the amount purporting to be paid to the blind. The true
amount was $3,468.39.

ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

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PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 14.

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ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

[Jan.

LIST OF BOOKS printed at the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum
for the Blind, with prices* of such as are for sale.

Lardner's Universal History,
Howe's Geography, .

Atlas of the Islands,
English Reader, First Part, .
Second Part,
The Harvey Boys,
The Pilgrim's Progress,
Baxter's Call,
English Grammar, .
Life of Melancthou, .
Constitution of the United States,
Book of Diagrams,
Tiri Rom«,

Peirce's Geometry, with Diagrams,
Political Class-Book, .
First Table of Logarithms, .
Second " "

Principles of Arithmetic,
Astronomical Dictionary,
Philosophy of Natural History,
Rudiments of Natural Philosophy,
Cyclopaedia, .

The Book of Common Prayer,
Guide to Devotion, .

New Testament, (Small,)

New Testament, (Large,)

Old Testament,

Book of Psalms,
Proverbs,

Psalms in Verse,

Psalms and Hymns,

The Dairyman's Daughter,
Spelling-Book, .
Sixpenny Glass of Wine

Howe's Blind Child's Manual,

First Book,
Second Part,
* Third Part,

Collection of Hymns for the Blind

Milton's Poetical Works,

Diderot's Essay,

Total number,

Ko. of Vols.

ce per Vol.

«3 00

3 00

2 00

9 00

3 00

2 00

3 00

2 00

3 00

2 00

3 00

1 50

2 00

3 00
3 00
3 00

- It has been found advisable to advance the price from that of former years.

The above amounts barely cover the cost. All expenses of packing and
transportation have to be charged extra.

We are prepared, also, to manufacture maps, globes, and other school
apparatus for the blind, and to deliver them to other institutions, or to blind,
persons, at actual cost.

1858.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 14. 23

TERMS OF ADMISSION

Young blind persons, of good moral character, can be admitted to the
School by paying $200 per annum. This sum covers all expenses, except for
clothing; namely, board, washing, medicines, the use of books, musical instru-
ments, &c. The pupils must furnish their own clothing, and pay their own
fares to and from the Institution. The friends of the pupils can visit them
whenever they choose.

Indigent blind persons, of suitable age and character, belonging to Massa-
chusetts, can be admitted gratuitously, by application to the Governor for a
warrant.

The following is a good form, though any other will do : —

" To his Excellency the Governor : —

" Sir, — My son, (or daughter, or nephew, or niece, as the case may be,)
named A. B., and aged , cannot be instructed in the common schools for
want of sight. I am unable to pay for the tuition at the Perkins' Institution and
Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, and I request that your Excellency will
grant a warrant for free admission.

" Very respectfully, •"

The application may be made by any relation or friend, if the parents are
dead or absent.

It should be accompanied by a certificate from one or more of the selectmen
of the town, or aldermen of the city, in this form : —

" I hereby certify, that, in my opinion, Mr. is not a wealthy per-
son, and that he cannot afford to pay $200 per annum for his child's instruction.

(Signed,) " — •"

There should also be a certificate, signed by some regular physician, in this
form : —

" I certify, that, in my opinion, has not sufficient vision to be

taught in common schools ; and that he is free from epilepsy, and from any
contagious disease.

(Signed,) " •"

These papers should be done up together, and directed to '• The Secretary
of State, State House, Boston, Mass."

24 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Jan.

An obligation will be required from some responsible person, that the pupil
shall be removed without expense to the institution, whenever it may be desira-
ble to discharge him.

The usual period of tuition is from five to seven years.

Indigent blind persons residing in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Con-
necticut, Rhode Island and South Caroliaa, by applying as above to the
" Commissioners for the Blind," care of the secretary of state in the respective
States, can obtain warrants of free admission.

For further particulars, address Dr. S. G. Howe, Director of the Institution
for the Blind, Boston, Mass.

The relations or friends of the blind who may be sent to the institution are
requested to furnish information in answer to the following questions : —

1. What is the age of the applicant?

2. Where was he born ?

3. Was he born blind ?

4. If not born blind, at what age did he become so V

5. What is the supposed cause of the blindness ?

6. Have there been any cases of blindness, or deafness, or insanity, in the
family of the applicant, among his brothers and sisters, parents, grandparents,
uncles, aunts or cousins V

7. Were his parents or grandparents affected with scrofula, in any form ;
with consumption ; humors, such as salt rheum ; eruptions of any kind ; or had
they any peculiarity of bodily constitution whatever ?

8. Were the parents or the grandparents of the applicant related to each
other by blood ? If so, in what degree ?

OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION

FOR 1858.

PRESIDENT.

EDWARD BROOKS.

VICE-PRESIDENT.

STEPHEN FAIRBANKS

TREASURER.

THOMAS B. WALES.

SECRETARY.

SAMUEL G. HOWE.

TRUSTEES.

THOMAS G. CARY.
THEOPHILUS P. CHANDLER.
GEORGE B. EMERSON.
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS.
JOSEPH LYMAN.
SAMUEL MAY.
WILLIAM PERKINS.
BENJAMIN ROTCH.
GEORGE R. RUSSELL.
JAMES STURGIS.
JOSEPH B. THAXTER, Jr.
WILLIAM D. TICKNOR.

TWENTY-SEVENTH

ANNUAL REPORT

THE TRUSTEES

PERKINS INSTITUTION

MASSACHUSETTS
ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND,

TO THE

CORPORATION.

CAMBRIDGE:
METCALF AND COMPANY,

PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY.

1859.

REPORT.

#erfcms Knstftutfon anti IWassaclwsctts ^sjlum for tije MivCa.

Boston, October 14, 1858.
To the Members of the Corporation: —

Gentlemen, — A recent law requires that all re-
ports which are to be laid before the Legislature shall
be made up to the 30th of September of each year,
and handed in to the Secretary of State on the 15th
of October.

In order to conform to this law, and to a conse-
quent change in your by-laws, the Trustees now sub-
mit their Report and the customary Reports of Su-
perintendent and Treasurer, which, however, embrace
only a period of three quarters. Hereafter the
annual meeting will be held in October, and all the
reports made for a full year ending September 30th.

Nothing has occurred since the last Report to
break the usual quiet uniformity of the Institution ;
nor has there been any change which requires spe-
cial notice.

The accompanying Report of the Treasurer will
show the state of the finances ; and a general abstract

of the Steward's account will give the principal items
of expenditure. The details of these can be easily
ascertained by examination of the books.

All the accounts are strictly audited every month
by a committee of this board. The Treasurer pays
out no money except upon the order of this com-
mittee.

The regular income of the Institution from its
vested funds is so small, that it is entirely dependent
upon the annual grant of $12,000 from the State.
Indeed, the whole regular income, including this
grant, though it may with great economy be made to
suffice for ordinary and necessary expenses, has been
totally inadequate for the heavy outlay occasioned by
the changes and improvements in the real estate and
buildings.

In order to meet these expenses, and also to carry
on the work of printing books and improving the
apparatus for instructing the blind, the Trustees have
been obliged to encroach upon the capital of the
Institution, and to rely upon the liberality of the
humane. This reliance has not, thus far, been ill-
founded. The Institution has received several lega-
cies ; and where no special direction has been given
to fund the capital, it has been merged with the
common fund, and used in such manner as seemed
advisable for the immediate interest of the pupils,
or for the advancement of the cause of education of
the blind in general. This cause the Trustees have
ever had at heart ; and it has been their wish to do
a full share, to say the very least, in its promotion.

When this Institution was incorporated, a little
more than a quarter of a century ago, no steps had

been taken elsewhere in this country towards public
provision for the education of the blind ; but now,
more than a score of similar establishments have
sprung up in various parts of the Union, and most
of the States have made provision for the instruc-
tion of blind children.

It is true, indeed, that this rapid extension of the
system is owing mainly to the general sympathy of
the people for the blind ; but it is equally true, that
the existence and multiplication of embossed books
gave to that sympathy direct action, by the convic-
tion which they produced of such action being feasi-
ble and useful.

The Director, Dr. Howe, has taken the lead in the
enterprise of creating a library for the blind. And
the Trustees have for many years made very liberal
advances from the treasury for the furtherance of the
work.

Such a work, however, is too expensive to be car-
ried on solely by any single institution, unless its
means are much greater than ours, or unless it is
sustained by generous contributions of those whose
privilege it is to possess the means of beneficence.
To such, this enterprise is commended as a simple
and sure way of doing good, for its object is to spread
knowledge before those whose life is, as it were, a
long night, and to whom a book is a light and a joy.
The supplementary department of the Institution,
or the workshop for adults, has been in a satisfactory
condition, and paid its own way. The amount of
work has been less the past year than in some former
ones, owing to general depression in all branches of
home manufacture. It has been enough, however,

to give direct and constant employment and means
of livelihood to nearly thirty persons here, and indi-
rectly to many others in the country. There are still
others who are unemployed ; and they will be fur-
nished with employment as fast as the increase of
custom will warrant it.

The Trustees have exercised such supervision over
the immediate operations of the establishment " as
they could, by formal and by informal visits ; and are
happy to express their entire satisfaction with the
manner in which the affairs of the Institution have
been conducted by the Director.

Signed by

THOMAS G. CARY,
JOSEPH LYMAN,

For the Trustees.

REPORT

OF THE DIRECTOR TO THE TRUSTEES.

$erftfns Xnstfttitfon an* Massachusetts &s£lum for tlje ISlfnti.

Boston, September 30, 1858.

Gentlemen, — I have the honor to report as fol-
lows, for the three quarters last past.

The number of blind persons connected with the
Institution in January last was reported as 114.
Since then 15 have been admitted and 15 have been
discharged, leaving the actual number 114. Of these
89 are resident in the household, and 25 are con-
nected with the Work Department.

The general health of the household has been
good. There have been no deaths ; and only one
case of severe illness.

Of those immediately connected with the Institu-
tion, fifty-nine are beneficiaries of Massachusetts ; the
remaining thirty are from the other New England
States.

In former years there have always been among our
pupils a number from Southern States ; this number
has grown less, as institutions have spread south-

ward, until last year, when the opening of a State
school in South Carolina took away the last bene-
ficiary from the South. This is not to be regretted
as far as our Institution is concerned, because there
never was any considerable pecuniary profit from ben-
eficiaries, and because the reasons for receiving them
from the Southern States no longer exist. Those rea-
sons were, first, that we might have as many pupils as
could be taught together with greatest advantage to
themselves ; and secondly, that blind children who
wished to be educated might have the opportunity,
though residing in parts of the Union where no
schools existed.

For many years the desirable number of pupils
was not furnished by Massachusetts and the neigh-
boring States, because knowledge of the system of
instructing the blind, and faith in its efficacy, did
not enough abound. But this is no longer the
case ; and, for many years to come, there will doubt-
less be found in New England a sufficient number
of blind children of suitable age and disposition for
at least one school.

It is partly in consequence of pupils from the
Southern States having been educated at this and
other Northern institutions, and having carried home
living proof of the value of the instruction, that so
many schools for the blind are now springing up in
the South. It is pleasant to think of the sympathy
and encouragement which these young establish-
ments receive from good men and women ; and to
indulge hopes of their permanent success, in spite of
the difficulties and obstacles which lie in the way of
all such enterprises, and which are more numerous

and formidable at the South than at the North.
There is now public provision in the United States
for the education of a greater number of blind chil-
dren, in proportion to the population, than in any
other country, except, perhaps, some of the Swiss
Cantons.

There seems, indeed, to be some danger lest the
general good of the cause should be endangered or
retarded by ill-directed efforts. Some individuals,
who are moved by a desire to do good, but who are
ignorant of the real wants of the blind, and some
who are moved by a desire of distinction, or by
even less worthy motives, may attempt the establish-
ment of schools in places where they are not really
needed, — where they cannot nourish, and where their
sickly existence tends to prevent the growth of other
establishments.

For instance, when a school is established in a
State which does not furnish a large number of
pupils, it is obviously better for that State, and for
the blind themselves, that pupils should be sent from
the neighboring States, and that one good school
should be well maintained by their joint eiforts,
rather than have two or three very small and poor
ones. Nevertheless, so readily do people respond to
any appeal in behalf of the blind, especially to the
first appeal, and so easy is it to enlist local preju-
dice and State pride, that the general interest of the
blind is liable to be overlooked, and harm to be done
to the cause of education by premature attempts to
establish State schools.

It is always an ungracious task to criticise a
benevolent enterprise ; and it is very difficult to
2

guide and direct any public impulse or gush of
sympathy, without checking it. The public sym-
pathy for the blind is always ready to manifest
itself, and will doubtless continue to flow, in spite
of any unwise direction that may be given to it ; but
it will last all the longer, and will do vastly more for
the real and permanent interest of the class, if it
be duly enlightened. The task of enlightening it
should fall upon those who have knowledge and
experience in the matter.

The question of how many institutions shall be
provided in these United States for the education of
the blind, is certainly an important one ; and as it
is not yet permanently settled, those who can throw
any light upon it should do so. If it is to be settled
by mere appeals to sympathy for the sufferers, and
to local prejudices, there will be as many schools as
are asked for ; but if it is settled by wisdom, there
will be only as many as are needed.

It is plain that the number of children and youth
composing an institution for the blind is not a mat-
ter of indifference. It is clear that with a certain
number we can derive the greatest advantage, and
encounter the least disadvantage, from their associa-
tion ; and that any great departure from this, either
one way or the other, is undesirable.

Now what is the most desirable number? My
own experience and reflection lead me to think that,
in institutions for the blind organized as those of
the United States now are, that is, upon the plan of
boarding-houses, the number of pupils should not
fall much short of fifty, and should not much exceed
one hundred.

Before giving reasons for this opinion, I remark : —

First, that I do not think that creating puolic in-
stitutions for the blind, and for some other dependent
classes, is the best conceivable mode of discharging
our duty to the unfortunate persons composing them ;
nor that such establishments are entirely unobjec-
tionable, but that they are probably the best possible
in the present state of society. They will doubtless
continue to exist as long, if not longer, than any
other establishments of public beneficence. They
may be considered as objectionable in some respects,
but not so much so as institutions of public charity
generally ; and they will be maintained in order to
prevent greater evils and suffering, which would fol-
low if they were abolished.

Secondly, I do not think that the boarding-school
system is the best one that can be devised for carry-
ing out the purposes of such an institution ; though
doubtless many years will elapse before any essential
change can be introduced in this country.

Thirdly, in balancing considerations, I give to eco-
nomical ones, or rather to questions of cost, not what
I consider their real weight, but the weight which
the public inflexibly stamps upon them.

If the number falls much short of fifty, the cost
per pupil is very much greater than it would be with
a large number. This is too clear to need any ex-
planation. All will see that the smaller the number,
the greater the comparative cost.

If the number does not exceed twenty-five or
thirty, they cannot be classified and taught to any
advantage. Twenty-five, indeed, would form a large
class for one teacher. But, first, they are of two

sexes ; secondly, they are widely apart as to age and
capacity. Now there are many considerations in fa-
vor of classification according to sex in schools for
the blind, and of entire separation, as well while in
school as when out of it, which do not apply to or-
dinary youth. If these considerations are heeded, as
I think they should be, then, with only twenty-five or
thirty pupils, we have twelve or fifteen boys, and as
many girls, in each class.

But there must be further subdivision according to
age and capacity ; and this must be greater even than
in common schools, because experience shows that
few institutions can or do resist the strong appeals
that are sometimes made for admission of pupils who
are under or over the prescribed age. If the mini-
mum be fixed at eight years, there will be continual
applications to make exception in favor of particular
cases, some of which can hardly be resisted. How
hard, for instance, to say nay to pleading in favor of
a blind child of seven, or six, or even five years old,
who is an orphan, or is abandoned by his parents,
and to whom only two doors are open," — that of the
almshouse, and that of the institution !

If the maximum of age be fourteen, or even six-
teen, then there come applicants who are older, but
who could not be sent earlier, or who, perhaps, have
only lately become blind. In both cases the plea for
admission generally prevails. It is on account of
such cases, and of the desire to have as many pupils,
and so do as much good, as possible, that there is
such a great variety in the ages of the inmates of
American institutions. It ranges from six to twenty,
and even in some cases to twenty-four years.

This matter of the best age for the admission of
pupils deserves serious consideration, and it is to be
hoped that the superintendents of various institu-
tions may give their views upon it in their reports.

Besides the actual diversity of age among the pu-
pils, there is, moreover, too great diversity in mental
power, even in very small schools, for it ranges from
imbecility to great cleverness, while there is too little
diversity of talent and disposition. Thus we shall
have two or three clever boys, five or six of ordinary
capacity, and three or four stupid ones. Now teach-
ers cannot work to advantage with such numbers.

If, on the other hand, the number be increased two
or three fold, and range from forty to one hundred,
we lose, of course, some of the affectional advantages
of the family circle (which indeed are very great),
but we gain very important moral and intellectual
ones. We have diversity of talent and disposition,
and that contact and conflict of mind with mind
which awaken knowledge of self and knowledge of
others. There is sufficient range of character for
similarity of temper and disposition to beget friend-
ships. The increase of numbers begets spirit and
animation ; and if the system be good, there arises a
wholesome emulation, which greatly promotes the
objects of the school. With this greater number,
then, we get most of the advantages of congregating
the blind together, (which, it must be confessed, are
mainly material ones,) and we have the least of the
disadvantages. As the number increases, and espe-
cially as it exceeds one hundred, we begin to see the
evil effects of disregarding too much that natural in-
dication which forbids the congregating together of a

large number of persons subject to a common infirm-
ity. That infirmity, be it what it may, is of course
an evil ; and it is equally of course that certain unde-
sirable moral results must grow out of it. These
results may be small, and easily counteracted in the
individual ; but by close and long-continued associa-
tion of individuals, they become intensified and for-
midable.

The natural and obvious way of lessening such
undesirable moral results, in other words, of prevent-
ing blindness from affecting the character injuriously,
is to surround the child by sound moral influences ;
that is, to keep him among ordinary and whole peo-
ple. We depart from this course, and run counter
to this natural indication, when we congregate many
blind children together for a long period ; though we
do so purposely, for the sake of certain advantages
which we think will more than counterbalance the
disadvantages.

Now my thought is, that the number may be so
great as to turn the balance, and make the disadvan-
tages preponderate. This begins to show itself when
the undesirable peculiarities growing out of the in-
firmity are intensified by mutual association, and give
tone and spirit to the family or community, instead
of being diluted and subdued by the healthy tone of
the sound members. An institution with two hun-
dred or two hundred and fifty pupils would be in
some respects open to even graver objections in this
country than in France, where such a one exists.
The regulations must conform to the spirit of the
country, and no considerations of the wealth or social
position of pupils should have weight in their classi-

fication. The beneficiary of the State should not be
allowed to feel that his advantages in the institution
are any less than those of a pupil whose parents pay
for his instruction.

There is another consideration to be borne in mind
while discussing this and similar questions, such as
what is the best age for admission of pupils, how
long shall they remain, and the like ; and this con-
sideration is the greater or less opportunity which
there may be, under different circumstances, for the
inmates to form intimacies which lead to intermar-
riage. In very small schools there must almost neces-
sarily be very great intimacy. In the very large ones
there must be frequent opportunities of acquaintance.
The latter, however, present the advantage of being
able to have complete separation in all the classes,
and even to have the sexes in different buildings.
Be this as it may, the experience of all shows that
the blind are no wiser in their generation than the
children of light ; that the natural law which forbids
the sin of entailing an infirmity upon posterity is
disregarded by them as well as by others, because the
self-esteem of each individual whispers that his case
is an exceptional one. If he thinks at all about it,
he admits that God forbade the sin to everybody,
except to him; he sees that the consequences are
inevitable to others, but thinks he will contrive to
dodge them.

What has been quaintly said of common marriages
is still more applicable to those of blind persons, —
they usually result from mere propinquity in time and
space. We should not, to say the least, favor unduly
the propinquity in space. Quite enough of the pupils

will be married, especially the young men, — we may
be sure of that ; but institutions should offer them no
facilities for intermarriage with blind women. If they
do, they in so far defeat one indirect purpose of their
establishment, which is, or should be, to lessen the
number of blind persons in the country ; for, surely,
blindness is not an essential and inherent defect in
the human race, but it is to be regarded as an acci-
dental or an inbred imperfection of the bodily organ-
ism, which would become less and less frequent, and
perhaps entirely disappear, after persistent obedience,
during several generations, of the natural laws which
govern that organism ; and it is part of the duty of
institutions to direct public attention to those laws.

The conclusion from these desultory remarks is,
that, taking the population of New England as a
basis of calculation, there should be about fifteen
institutions for the blind in the United States ; and
that it is better for the general cause, and cheaper for
individual States, to send their blind children to in-
stitutions already established, in neighboring States,
than to build up new ones.

It was said above, that blindness is to be regarded
as an accidental imperfection of the bodily organism.
The word accidental is used designedly ; and I would
take this opportunity to qualify slightly an opinion
expressed in a former Report, namely, that congeni-
tal blindness would probably be unknown among
men if they carefully observed all the natural laws
of life. Enough is now known of those laws to pre-
vent those multitudinous cases of blindness which
are inbred, but not enough probably to prevent occa-
sional cases of congenital blindness. They might be

so rare as to be marvels, but still the marvel might
now and then occur. This is to be inferred from the
fact that blindness does occur even among animals
in a natural state, though they may well be supposed
to live up to the natural laws of their organism.

Strolling not long ago in the woods, I was struck
by the sight of a robin training her young ones to
fly. She had got them out of the nest, and on to the
ground. As I drew nigh, they all fluttered away ex-
cept one. The motions of this one were so singular
as to fix my attention. As I came nearer, it did not
seem to know how to avoid me ; and when I put out
my hand, it did not shrink away. I took it up, and
found it was totally blind. The poor thing seemed
whole in other respects, and lived several days ; but
all efforts to raise it were useless.

This was clearly a case of congenital blindness;
for the eyeballs were only rudimentary. Some acci-
dental derangement or disturbance had arrested the
progress of development in this part of the organism.

We know that some such causes produce derange-
ment and distortion among plants and the lower ani-
mals, and the inference might be, that the liability to
such derangements is greater as the organism is more
complex, and that they must be most common in man,
because he has the most complex organism. But let
no such inference seem to lessen the necessity of ef-
forts to eradicate blindness and other infirmities from
the race ; for it is, to say the least, a doubtful one.
As the complexity of the organism increases, so does
its importance increase, and the Creator endows it
with capacities denied to lower forms. To man espe-
cially does he give such great capacity and power,
3

that the condition of his organism is very much in
his own hands. Man alone has self-consciousness ;
and he alone has the power of greatly modifying and
improving his bodily condition.

The first step towards this is the conviction derived
from accurate observation, that his actual condition is
worse than it need be. If the whole subject is too
vast for comprehension at first sight, attention to one
branch will make it simple and easy.

Recent authorities state that there are in all
Europe 250,000 blind persons, and 211,585 deaf
mutes. It is true that the statistics of most of the
countries are unreliable, but all are not. In Prussia,
for instance, great care seems to have been taken.
There the estimate, based upon returns in 1831, gave
one blind person to 1,415 inhabitants; in 1834, one
to 1,410; in 1837, one to 1,378. The Belgian re-
turns give one blind person to 1,316 inhabitants;
other German States, one to 1,400.

Taking the lowest estimate, it may be safely as-
sumed that there are near a half-million mutes and
blind in Europe, and a proportional number in this
country. This great number of defective members of
each generation certainly modifies to some extent the
phenomenal condition of the race; but there is no
reason to suppose that such modification is neces-
sarily a persistent condition. Naturalists admit that
there is a constant tendency in the races of animals
to return from deviations caused by disease or acci-
dent, towards the natural type. Surely man is not
cut off from this beneficent condition. On the con-
trary, analogy leads to the belief that he may profit
most of all by it, and turn it to his own benefit, as
he does other natural laws.

It is not unreasonable to suppose that in the
human race the tendency to return to the normal
type does not imply retrogression, but is only ten-
dency to return to the type which is characteristic of
the particular period of its existence as a race ; just
as the vis medicatrioc natures in the adult does not
give tendency to return to the state of health typical
of childhood or infancy, but to the state typical of
manhood.

Thus in an early stage of civilization, though the
deviations from the normal state of bodily health
may, for obvious reasons, be more frequent than in
the barbarous stage, yet the awakened intellect ena-
bles men to avail themselves of the natural law, and
bring about return to that type of health which char-
acterizes the civilized stage. Now all analogy war-
rants the supposition that this latter type must be
higher and more perfect than the former.

According to these views, if, as seems probable,
insanity, blindness, deafness, and other indications of
deviations from the natural type, become more nu-
merous as society seems to advance in civilization,
it is because the advance is not real and equal in all
parts of man's nature.

In certain early stages of mental culture, the ani-
mal nature is apt to be first quickened and intensi-
fied, and its sway may for a while be complete ; but
with further culture its cravings become less and less
heeded, as the higher faculties are developed, and
their demands begin to be felt. When the fully
awakened intellect guides aright the strong religious
disposition which pervades man's being, and makes
him realize that natural laws are verily God's laws,
then he will obey them.

A wise and prudent woman, in the case of her
own child, might possibly have prevented that dis-
turbance in the process of development which caused
the blindness of the robin, above alluded to. So that,
after all, though the fact of animals being born blind
may seem to call for some qualification of the remark,
that congenital blindness would be unknown in a
society where all the natural laws were carefully
observed during several generations, the qualifica-
tion need not be an important one. It remains
essentially true, that men may have as many or as
few blind, deaf, or idiotic children born to every
generation as they will.

The department for supplying work to adults con-
tinues in about the same condition as in former years.
From twenty-five to thirty persons have been em-
ployed most of the time, and $ 2,187.28 paid to them
for their work. As, however, the account of stock
will not be made up until December, no accurate
statement of the profit or loss for the year can yet
be made.

The general financial results have been satisfac-
tory. The best evidence of this is, that no appropri-
ation has been made from the general funds of the
Institution to this department since the year 1855 ;
and then it was done, not for the current expenses,
but to increase the working capital.

The accounts of the Work Department are kept
entirely separate, and all stock and materials pur-
chased are paid for from the proceeds of the sales.
During the past year, the wages of the workmen, the
rent of the store in town, the cost of keeping a horse
and wagon, clerk-hire, fire-insurance, and all contin-

gent expenses, have been paid by the shop itself.
The clerk-hire is a new charge to the shop, having
formerly been paid from the general fund.

Cash is paid for all goods purchased, and, as far as
possible, cash payments are required for all goods sold.

The workmen are paid punctually every month.
The stock of manufactured articles is not allowed to
increase unduly. All excess of the year's production
is sold at auction. The same is done with articles
that are poorly made, or that have become shop-worn
and unsalable. The shop, however, is not responsi-
ble for them, but only for what is sold at its own
counter.

Upon some occasions, when demand for work was
slack, we have made up large lots of cheap mattresses
specially for auction, being satisfied if they brought
enough to pay the bare cost of materials, and give
the workmen just wages enough to live upon.

The men upon these occasions, and indeed gener-
ally, manifest a commendable spirit, and co-operate
with those who have the direction of the enterprise
for its successful result. The degree of success is
already considerable ; because, if we do not reckon
the cost of general supervision, the department is no
longer of any pecuniary charge to the institution,
except for interest on the capital invested in building
the workshop at South Boston, and in purchasing the
original stock and machinery.

Every year's experience has enabled us to lessen
the cost of carrying on the establishment, while it
has given the workmen greater skill. If this con-
tinues a little longer, the shop will be able to pay the
interest on the capital invested in its stock, and be-

come entirely self-supporting, except for the interest
on the cost of the building. Indeed, this could be
done now, if we were willing to go back to the old
system, and board the workmen and workwomen in
common ; because this would be cheaper than board
in private houses, and the workmen would therefore
require less wages for their support. I should consider
such a measure, however, to be a step backward ; to
be penny wise and pound foolish ; to be abandoning
a policy which is dictated by sound principles, and to
be laying the foundations of what would probably in
time become an almshouse. But there is little prob-
ability of this being done. Whoever may have the
direction of this enterprise in future will of course
study the principles which underlie the whole mat-
ter; will consider the experiments which we have
made ; will note the results of every year's trial, and
consult some of the intelligent blind persons who
have had knowledge in the matter. The result will
doubtless be persistence in a system which is the
simplest that has been devised, and which gives to
the workman not only daily bread, but freedom to
eat it, where, when, and as he chooses, and which
trains him up to be a useful member of society, by
leading him to live in it, rather than in an asylum.

The number of persons directly employed in the
workshop continues the same as in former years.
This is not, however, the limit of its usefulness.
Several of its former members work in the country,
and indirectly are connected with the shop. Many
more work entirely for themselves, and do well.

It is not desirable to increase the number of our
immediate workmen more than is absolutely neces-

sary. It is not sound policy to encourage pupils
to remain in the city after their course of instruction
is finished ; nor is it good policy to retain here those
adults who come from the country to learn a trade.
It should be done only in exceptional cases, and as a
matter of necessity.

The best thing for a blind youth who has learned
a trade in an institution, is to go back at once to the
town where he belongs, and try to establish himself
there. He should try by every possible means to live
there, where the lines have fallen to him ; to maintain
his place in the general society where he rightfully
belongs ; and never resort to an asylum of any kind,
except in the last stern necessity. If this occurs, he
should let not a whit of the fault or responsibility
rest with him. Even those few who are to remain as
teachers will be all the better for going out a few
years, and taking lessons of life in the actual world.

The tendency of the workshop to increase unduly
the number of blind persons in one locality is a very
important matter, and should be kept constantly in
view by those who are building up institutions. It
involves moral and material considerations of great
importance. Nor are these merely theoretical ; for
we are beginning already, even in this country, to see
the evil consequences of neglecting the principle
which underlies the matter ; and the end is not yet.

In view of the increasing number of those Avho
have finished their course here, and who must work
for a livelihood, I have for some time been anxious to
make arrangements for providing work which they
can do at home, in the country. In order to effect
this, it is necessary that the business at our workshop

should be enlarged. The enlargement, however, must
not be brought about by any such appeal to the char-
itable feeling of the public as would induce them to
come and buy ; for, besides the strong considerations
against such an appeal, the result of it would only be
spasmodic, and the benefit temporary. Indeed, the
idea, which is too prevalent, that persons who give
their custom to the blind at our store must make a
little sacrifice, is groundless and hurtful. We believe
that, with the advantages which the Institution gives
to the blind workmen, they are put nearly upon a
level with seeing men. We see that, after long prac-
tice, they can do certain simple kinds of work thor-
oughly and well. We know that the materials of all
the goods on sale are honestly what they are stated
to be. Knowing these things, we have placed our
shop in one of the great thoroughfares of trade, in
fair competition with others, and have invited inspec-
tion of the goods manufactured.

We might indeed urge people to come and buy,
and plead as our motive the strong desire of giving
work and support to the blind. This would be at
least quite as generous and disinterested as the mo-
tive so commonly put forth in advertisements, to wit,
the great desire of accommodating the public; but
we do not do even this ; for, while our motive in sell-
ing is to employ the blind, we expect that the motive
of the buyer will be to get a good bargain.

It is only by acting on this principle that we have
been able to create a steady and reliable business.
If it is enlarged in this way, the enlargement will
pretty surely be permanent ; and we shall thus obvi-
ate one difficulty which has been urged as an objec-

tion to our plan, to wit, that the blind may be
encouraged at one season with prospect of employ-
ment, and left at another to suffer from lack of it.

Practically, there has never been much difficulty
on this score, and of late years but very little of it.
There are certain kinds of simple work which almost
all can do, and for which there is a steady demand at
certain seasons, such, for instance, as making door-
mats. This constitutes, therefore, a kind of staple ;
and when orders for mattresses do not come in
briskly, the men fall back upon their looms and mat-
boards.

Some of the workmen have been entirely depen-
dent upon their wages for more than ten years, and
have made a comfortable living ; a few have relatives
in the country, and go to them a few months in the
winter, returning here regularly in the spring.

There are scores and hundreds of blind persons in
the country who would be glad of the same oppor-
tunity ; and the main difficulty in the way of their
having it arises from their inability to compete with
seeing persons who work for the wholesale dealers.
By taking advantage of that law of trade which gives
to the retailer so large a share of profit, and allowing
all this to the blind workman, our establishment
gives means of support to a certain number, which
will be greater or less according as our retail business
is greater or less. Beyond this we cannot safely go,
as will be seen by looking at the practical workings
of any branch. For instance, the price which is
readily paid by families for reseating cane-bottom
chairs, gives a good living profit to a blind man ;
and most of the work of this kind in the city comes
4

to our shop. If, however, we should attempt to
enlarge the business greatly, and go into the work of
seating new chairs, we should come into competition
with the wholesale dealer. He gets his work done
in the State prisons and other public establishments ;
or he carries his frames around the country, leaving
a hundred here and a hundred there, to be done in
families, at odd hours, in bad weather, perhaps by
women and children. The price which he pays will
not keep the pot boiling, as these thrifty people
know very well ; and they do not rely upon it, but
earn it when they cannot earn any more. The blind
man, however, must have one steady employment, for
he cannot turn his hand to everything.

Next to establishing here a large and permanent
business, the most unobjectionable way of meeting
his want is one which has before been mentioned in
our Reports, and which commends itself to the judg-
ment, as well as to the feelings. It is to establish a
fund, the income of which shall be devoted to eking
out his earnings. Suppose, for instance, that one
thousand dollars were given in trust to this Institu-
tion, with directions that the income should be paid
monthly to some blind man who had already earned
an equal sum. There is many a man in the country
who could and would gladly earn every week from
one to two dollars, if he could get a third ; but fail-
ing this, he must go to the almshouse, where he
earns nothing, for, the spur being removed, he be-
comes an idle pauper.

One thousand dollars invested in this way would
keep one man industriously and profitably employed,
as long as he could work ; and it would employ oth-

ers after him. Ten thousand would keep eleven or
twelve so employed. Such an investment would be
living proof of the truth of the proverb, — Help
yourself, and Heaven will help you.

In conformity with a custom which, if not abused,
is a good one, and which requires of directors of
public institutions like ours a yearly account, not
only of their doings, but of their thinkings, I have in
this Report, as in some former ones, touched upon
matters pertaining to the general organization of
such establishments. In doing so I have laid much
stress upon the necessity of guarding against the
evils which are to be apprehended from associating
together in too great numbers, and for too long time,
persons who labor under a common infirmity. I
have also been obliged often to allude to the disad-
vantages flowing from the infirmity. This may have
given offence to morbid sensibility. It may have
seemed to render public institutions less attractive
in the public eye. But if the principles insisted
upon are sound, and the motives in putting them
forth are good, there need be no anxiety about the
final effect.

It would have been easy to present a different
aspect of the case, and to dwell upon the manifest
advantages of institutions for the blind, without
alluding to their small disadvantages. Looking
merely to temporary results, it would have been bet-
ter to touch no string which would grate upon a
sensitive ear, or damp the ardor of a generous public.

It would be pleasant to point out persons so hap-
pily constituted that they seem to gather good from
an evil tree ; and to become wiser, purer, and better,

in all ways, from becoming blind. It would be easy
also to dwell on certain moral and intellectual advan-
tages which seem to grow out of blindness. We
must not, however, be guided by the exceptional, but
by the common results. Especially we must not
forget, in the admiration which the virtues and the
excellences of certain persons excite, that blindness,
like any other departure from a normal condition,
is naturally followed by disadvantages which it is
our business to lessen and remedy as much as is
possible.

When we think of the docility, the gentleness, the
gayety, and other graces of youth, which so often
abound among the blind, — of the cheerfulness, the
courage, the industry, shown in later life by many,
who not only bravely bear their heavy infirmity as
though it were no burden at all, but who show active
sympathy for every form of suffering in others, —
when we think of these things, we must rejoice over
them as proofs of the high capacities of our common
nature, which can bear blossom and fruit in spite of
sterile soil and cruel mutilation ; but we must not
neglect any of the laws of its culture.

We must remember that the highest and brightest
examples for our pupils are those blind persons who,
without the advantage of institutions especially adapt-
ed to their wants, have shown honesty, energy, talent,
and success in various active walks of life, and who
have manifested the Christian graces and virtues in
all their social and domestic relations. But in order
that such examples may not be wanting in future,
we must organize and regulate our institutions so as
that they shall not foster a clannish spirit, and a dis-

position to monkish seclusion; but will arm their
pupils for the battle of life, and inspire them with
courage to contend resolutely, but generously, for
their share of its duties, its responsibilities, and its
blessings.

The details of the establishment, which are impor-
tant in themselves, but of little public interest, are
communicated monthly to the Board, and may be
referred to whenever occasion presents.

I take the opportunity, in closing, to express my
obligation to those persons who have been associated
with me in the direction of the establishment ; and
who have labored with zeal and fidelity for its wel-
fare. On them more than on all others, the inmates
rely for daily comfort, improvement, and happiness.

Respectfully submitted by

s. G. HOWE.

GENERAL ABSTRACT OF THE

Dr. The Perkins Institution for the Blind in

For amount paid at sundry dates, on Orders of Auditors, for
various disbursements * for expenses, as per account ren-
dered, viz. :— $13,337.39

For amount invested in Western Railroad, 25 shares, . 2,456.25

" interest on Mr. Stover's mortgage, .... 90.00

" amount on T. Stover's note and mortgage, . . 1,500.00

" " invested in Western Railroad Bonds, $4,000.00
Interest on same, ...... 52.00

4,052.00

Balance to new account, 3,618.23

$ 25,053.87

* These items will be made out and printed at the end of the year.

TREASURER'S REPORT FOR 1858.

Account with T. B. AVales, Treasurer. Cr.

By cash from old account, $2,567.49

" three quarterly payments of appropriation by State of

Massachusetts, 9,000.00

" Amount received from Vermont, for Pupils, $880.00

" " Connecticut, " 2,979.83

" " " " New Hampshire, " 900.00

" " " " South Carolina, " 79.00

" " " Rhode Island, " 299.38

5,138.21

on account of Private Pupils, . . 750.00
for Books, Apparatus, &c, sold to

Mississippi Inst, for Blind, $ 125.00

Louisiana " " 147.00

Pennsylvania " " 24.74

District of Columbia, 25.25
Sundry individuals, as per

memorandum, . . 94.62

from George Winslow, . 23.36

439.97

Dividends on Stocks, 1,158.20
William Oliver's estate, 835.00
Ex'r of J. Black, Esq., 5,000.00
Mrs. Watson's Legacy, 165.00

7,158.20
$ 25,053.87

Boston, October 12, 1858.

The undersigned, a Committee appointed to examine the accounts of
the Treasurer of the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for
the Blind, for the year 1858, have attended to that duty, and hereby cer-
tify that they find the accounts to be properly vouched and correctly cast,
and the balance to be three thousand six hundred eighteen and -j2^- dol-
lars, say $3,618.23.

The Treasurer also exhibited to us evidence of the following property
belonging to the Institution : —

9 shares in New England Bank, S 900.00

1,020.00
. 2,500.00

1,200.00
. 1,642.50

8,218.75
. 2,942.00

1,250.00
. 1,155.00
4 certificates, Western Railroad Bonds, .... 4,000.00

17 '

' State Bank, ....

25 '

' Tremont Bank,

12 '

' Columbian Bank, .

20 '

' Boston and Providence Railroad,

85 '

' Western Railroad,

30 '

' Boston and Maine Railroad,

25 '

1 Concord Railroad, .

15 '

' Boston and Worcester Railroad,

$24,828.25

Nathaniel H. Emmons, 7 ,-, ...
T »t n ' > Committee.

Joseph JN. Howe, ^

33
LIST OF BOOKS

PRINTED AT THE

PERKINS INSTITUTION AND MASSACHUSETTS
ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

WITH PRICES* OF SUCH AS ARE FOR SALE.

Lardner's Universal History,
Howe's Geography,

" Atlas of the Islands,
English Header, First Part, .

" " Second Part,

The Harvey Boys,
The Pilgrim's Progress, .
Baxter's Call,
English Grammar, .
Life of Melancthon,
Constitution of the United States
Book of Diagrams,
Viri Romas, ....
Peirce's Geometry, with Diagrams,
Political Class-Book,
First Table of Logarithms, .
Second " " "

Principles of Arithmetic,
Astronomical Dictionary,
Philosophy of Natural History,
Rudiments of Natural Philosophy
Cyclopaedia,

The Book of Common Prayer,
Guide to Devotion,
New Testament (small), .

" (large),

Old Testament,
Book of Psalms, .

" Proverbs, .
Psalms in Verse,
Psalms and Hymns, .
The Dairyman's Daughter,
" Speliing-Book, .
" Sixpenny Glass of Wine,
Howe's Blind Child's Manual

" " " First Book,

" " Second Part,

Third Part,
Collection of Hymns for the Blind,
Milton's Poetical Works,
Diderot's Essay,

No. of

Volumes.

Price per
Volume.
$3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
2.00
3.00
3.00
2.00
2.00
2.00
2.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
2.00
3.00
2.00
2.00
3.00
3.00
3.00

1.50
1.50

2.00
3.00
3.00
300

Total number,

The above amounts barely cover the cost. All expenses of packing and
transportation have to be charged extra.

We are prepared, also, to manufacture maps, globes, and other school ap-
paratus for the blind, and to deliver them to other institutions, or to indigent
blind persons, at actual cost.

* It has been found advisable to advance the price from that of former years.

TERMS OF ADMISSION.

Indigent blind persons, of suitable age and character, belonging
to Massachusetts, can be admitted gratuitously, by application to
the Governor for a warrant.

The following is a good form, though any other will do : —

" To his Excellency the Governor : —

" Sir, — My son, (or daughter, or nephew, or niece, as the case
may be,) named A. B., and aged , cannot be instructed in the
common schools for want of sight. I am unable to pay for the
tuition at the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the
Blind, and I request that your Excellency will grant a warrant for
free admission.

" Very respectfully, ."

The application may be made by any relation or friend, if the
parents are dead or absent.

It should be accompanied by a certificate from one or more of
the selectmen of the town, or aldermen of the city, in this form : —

" I hereby certify, that, in my opinion, Mr. is not a

wealthy person, and that he cannot afford to pay $ 200 per annum
for his child's instruction.

(Signed,) « •"

There should also be a certificate, signed by some regular phy-
sician, in this form : —

" I certify, that, in my opinion, has not sufficient .

vision to be taught in common schools ; and that he is free from
epilepsy, and from any contagious disease.

(Signed,) « .-

These papers should be done up together, and directed to " The
Secretary of State, State-House, Boston, Mass."

An obligation will be required from some responsible person,
that the pupil shall be removed without expense to the Institution,
whenever it may be desirable to discharge him.

The usual period of tuition is from five to seven years.

Indigent blind persons residing in Maine, New Hampshire, Ver-
mont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and South Carolina, by applying
as above to the " Commissioners for the Blind," care of the Sec-
retary of State in the respective States, can obtain warrants of free
admission.

For further particulars, address Dr. S. G. Howe, Director of the
Institution for the Blind, Boston, Mass.

The relations or friends of the blind who may be sent to the
Institution are requested to furnish information in answer to the
following questions : —

1 . What is the age of the applicant ?

2. Where was he born ?

3. Was he born blind ?

4. If not born blind, at what age did he become so ?

5. What is the supposed cause of the blindness ?

6. Have there been any cases of blindness, or deafness, or insan-
ity, in the family of the applicant, among his brothers and sisters,
parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, or cousins ?

8. Were the parents or the grandparents of the applicant related
to each other by blood ? If so, in what degree ?

OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION

FOR 1858-59.

PRESIDENT.

EDWARD BROOKS.

VICE-PRESIDENT.

STEPHEN FAIRBANKS.

TREASURER.

THOMAS B. WALES.

SECRETARY.

SAMUEL G. HOWE.

TRUSTEES.

THOMAS G. CARY,
THEOPHILUS P. CHANDLER,
GEORGE B. EMERSON,
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS,*
JOSEPH LYMAN,
SAMUEL MAY,
WILLIAM PERKINS,
BENJAMIN S. ROTCH,*
GEORGE R. RUSSELL,
JAMES STURGIS,
JOSEPH B. THAXTER, Jr.,*
WILLIAM D. TICKNOR*

* Trustees in behalf of the State, appointed January, 1858. The
State Trustees for 1859 have not yet been designated by the Governor.

TWENTY-EIGHTH

ANNUAL REPORT

THE TRUSTEES

PERKINS INSTITUTIO

assatjjmtts %q\m for % §M,

CORPORATION

CAMBRIDGE:
WELCH, BIGELOW, AND COMPANY,

PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY.

18 60.

REPORT.

33effefns institution anfi iSJassacijusctts Stsjihtm for ti)e 3Slfut>.

Boston, October 5, 1859.

TO THE COKPORATION AND THE LEGISLATURE :

Gentlemen, — The undersigned, Trustees in be-
half of the Corporation and of the Legislature of
Massachusetts, respectfully submit the following Re-
port and documents, in which may be found all the
information required by law and usage to be laid be-
fore the annual meeting.

First. The Report of the Treasurer, duly audited by
a committee of the Corporation. This Report shows
that the funds in his hands amount to $ 24,828.25,
invested as per memorandum enclosed, being the
same amount as reported at the commencement of
the year, and a balance on hand amounting to
$ 739.69.

The Report shows in detail all the sums received
on account of the Institution, and the sources whence
they are drawn ; but it does not show the items of
expenditure. This is because the Treasurer does not
pay the bills for current expenses, but only drafts
drawn by a committee of the Trustees.

The disbursements are made by the Director, and
his accounts are examined monthly by the Committee
on Accounts, who give drafts upon the Treasurer
for the amount expended. Every bill is examined,
and, if found correct, is approved, numbered, and re-
corded.

Secondly. The Report of the Director. This gives
the required information respecting the admissions,
discharges, and number of pupils ; also their general
condition and occupation during the year.

The total number of blind persons resident in the
Institution or connected with the workshop is 122.

The Director also makes such remarks upon mat-
ters connected with the education of the blind as
seem to him appropriate.

Thirdly. The inventories of real and personal prop-
erty belonging to the Institution required by law.

The property consists mainly in real estate sit-
uated in South Boston. This is now becoming val-
uable. It will soon be in demand for house-lots,
and can doubtless be sold advantageously within a
few years.

Whenever the main lot, south of Broadway, with
the buildings, can be sold for enough to purchase an
estate in the country, and to build suitable buildings,
the successors of the present Board will probably
remove the Institution, because the objection to its
present location will be likely to increase, as the
neighborhood becomes more populous, rather than
to lessen, and because they will have the means to
do it. It could not be done now, were the neces-
sity for it greater than it is, wifhout incurring debt ;
and this should always be avoided if possible.

The lot north of Broadway, on which the work-
shop is situated, will probably be held longer. In-
deed, it does not seem advisable to contemplate the
removal of the Work Department for adults from
South Boston at present, even if the School should
be removed. The Work Department is quite sep-
arate from and independent of the School, with
which the workmen and workwomen have no rela-
tion. Indeed, they all board in the neighboring
houses, where they have made themselves comforta-
ble homes. A necessity for a removal may arise in
future, but it does not seem to exist now.

The Trustees, besides their monthly meetings, in
which they transact any business that may be neces-
sary, have visited the Institution by their commit-
tees, at least as often as twice in each month. The
reports of these committees as to the condition of
the premises, and the occupations of the pupils, have
always been satisfactory.

The examinations have shown the school to be in
a satisfactory condition.

The enlargement of the play-grounds gives to the
girls more opportunity for exercise in the open air
and in sunshine than formerly, a circumstance of
great importance for all children, but especially for
the blind.

The boys who have no talent for music need un-
usual opportunity for training in the workshop, as
manual labor must be their main dependence for
future support. In view of this, additional accom-
modations for the boys' workshop are desirable.

Finally, the Trustees heartily commend the Insti-
tution to the Corporation, the Legislature, and the

public, as worthy the patronage of the State and
the encouragement of good men who have the stew-
ardship of wealth.

Adopted by order of the Board.

Attest,

S. G. HOWE, Secretary.

REPORT

OF THE DIRECTOR TO THE TRUSTEES.

^crfefns Enstftutfon autr JWassadjusctts Ste^lum for tje JSlfntr.

Boston, September 30, 1859.

Gentlemen, — The undersigned has the honor to
submit the following Report touching the history
and condition of the Institution during the year
which closes this day.

On the 30th of September, 1858, the number of
blind persons connected with the Institution was
114. During the year 28 have been admitted, and
19 have been discharged; so that the total number
at this date is 123. Of these, 3 are teachers, 3 are
assistants, and 88 are pupils. They all reside in
the building of the Institution, and, with the teach-
ers and domestics, make up the household. The
others, 29 in number, are adults, and are connected
with the Work Department as journeymen. They
do not reside at the establishment, but board in the
neighborhood, and come to the shop daily to their
work.

HEALTH.

The general health of the inmates has been as good
as usual. There has been very little sickness, and
none of a grave character. The pupils are of an
age when the great spontaneous activity of the vital
force keeps in abeyance whatever morbid tendencies
may exist. They are subject to wholesome rules of
diet and regimen, and are, therefore, usually in the
enjoyment of what is called "good health." As
compared with other blind persons of their age, the
average standard of health among our pupils is
high.

The careful observer, however, will see a marked
difference between a hundred blind youths in this,
or any other institution, and a hundred youths in an
ordinary school. This is especially true of the male
sex. He will find among the blind a larger pro-
portion of scrofulous, narrow-chested, angular, pallid,
and feeble boys, who move sluggishly and soon tire ;
and a smaller proportion of those full-chested,
chubby, rosy, elastic creatures, whom nothing can
keep still, and nothing tire out.

To the common eye the children in a school for
the blind look pretty well, and feel pretty well ; and
they would be surprised by any expression of doubt
about their bodily health and strength. This " feel-
ing well," however, and being well, is a relative
matter. Two young men of the same age may, to
a casual observer, seem equally strong and well, and
both may lead temperate lives ; and yet John's
amount of vital force, if measured by the capacity
for persistence of all the bodily functions, in spite

of morbid tendencies and in spite of time, — that is,
his quantum of life,- — may be double that of Thomas.
He may do twice the amount of work, manual, men-
tal, or spiritual; he may bear twice the amount of
wear and tear, and yet live on a score of years
after Thomas has died of old age. So much for the
difference of stock, where the external modifying
influences, that is, the mode of life, are the same.
If John, springing from good stock, is carefully
trained up according to the laws of health, then he
may, like Boone or Humboldt, live, hunting or writ-
ing, up to ninety ; while Thomas, coming of poor
stock and living unwisely, dies a mere youth, or
barely struggles on to a stunted and sickly manhood.
If, however, the conditions of life are reversed, and
John, like most young men born to riches, wastes
his abundant vital force in riotous living, while
Thomas uses his scanty portion frugally, then the
quantum of Thomas's life, measured by its duration,
may be equal to John's, while, if measured by the
amount of bodily and mental action, it may be much
greater.

Now if the blind, as a class, have a much smaller
quantum of life than ordinary persons, it must be
either on account of some flaw in the stock whence
they sprung, or of some peculiarity in their mode of
life, induced by their infirmity, such as bodily inac-
tivity ; but probably it results from both causes. At
any rate, it is a matter well worth considering.

The undersigned has repeatedly stated that his
experience goes to confirm what would be the nat-
ural inference from the premises, to wit, that the in-
firmity of blindness not only tends to circumscribe
2

the activity and to lessen the enjoyment of life, but
moreover to shorten its duration. This tendency, of
course, may be partly corrected by proper training,
and a careful mode of life ; but it should always be
kept in mind. In former Reports of this Institution
the blind have been urged by various considerations,
addressed to their reason and moral sense, to observe
carefully all the laws of health. As such appeals,
however, can have little force when based upon the
mere opinion of an individual, compared with what
they would have if founded on well-ascertained truths,
it may be well to set forth those truths plainly.

Most people become resigned, even cheerful, under
habitual ill-health. There is nothing shocking in
the thought that you are less robust and healthy
than your neighbors ; but the certainty that you must
die sooner is at least startling. Disease in the phys-
ical system works like the worm in fruit, and seems
to hurry it through its phases of growth and matu-
rity, to early decay ; but the analogy extends not to
the moral nature, and man does not become ready
to drop prematurely into the grave. The soul feels
an instinctive right to a lease of at least threescore
and ten years of a tenan table tabernacle, with proper
warning for a peaceful and willing departure ; and
she protests against earlier and forcible ejectment by
active disease, or by decay of the tenement.

Among the blind, love of life and aversion to
early death are not lessened by their infirmity, nor
by its usual effect of lowering the standard of health.
If, therefore, stubborn statistics of mortality can come
as a voice from the dead, saying to them, You will
surely die earlier than your neighbors unless you

take uncommon care, then they may heed this voice,
though they heed not that of the prophets.

Several institutions for the blind in this country
have existed more than a quarter of a century ; and
though the period is a short one, yet valuable statis-
tics may already be gathered from their records.

Look at the nature of the source whence these
statistics are drawn.

First, the pupils of the several institutions are in
some respects a picked class. Feeble and sickly chil-
dren would not generally be sent from home.

Next, while they are in the School, they come un-
der very favorable physical influences. In this Insti-
tution much attention has always been paid to the
laws of health. The pupils are well fed, well clad, and
comfortably lodged. They breathe fresh air, bathe
daily, take active bodily exercise, live in a cheerful
social atmosphere, and suffer no undue strain upon
their mental faculties. The rules of the establish-
ment require that they be so trained during the five
or seven years of their pupilage. But, besides this,
they are taught physiology, and made to understand
that the rules derive not their binding force from the
will or wisdom of an individual, but from their con-
formity with natural principles, and their aim to pro-
mote health and longevity. The same is probably
true of the other institutions whence these statistics
are drawn.

It is to be feared, indeed, that the regular, simple,
and wholesome habits gained in school are not per-
sisted in by all after they return to their several homes.
There they come under new influences. They think,
naturally enough, that they may live as carelessly
and unwisely as those about them, not remembering

that the blind, in order to preserve ordinary health,
must take extraordinary care of it. The aid of dis-
cipline being withdrawn, they are tempted by the ex-
ample of their neighbors to neglect or break the
rules of diet and regimen which are important for
all, but essential to the blind, if they wish to keep
in as high condition of bodily and mental health as
their more favored fellows.

Those especially whose misfortune it is to lack the
spur of necessity, and to imbibe the vulgar notion
that work is not respectable, yield easily to the lan-
guor and sluggishness which, little by little, creep
over them as they grow older, until they lose all
love for any bodily effort and exercise beyond that of
rocking a chair. Notwithstanding such cases, how-
ever, the good effect of wise training during the
years of pupilage must tell upon the great majority
of graduates for many years, and make them to live
longer and more healthily than they would otherwise
have done. The average length of life is doubtless
greater among them than it would otherwise have
been ; greater at least than among others who suf-
fer under the like infirmity. Statistics of mortali-
ty, therefore, based upon the average duration of life
among the pupils of good educational institutions,
must present the most favorable case that can fairly
be made for the blind as a class. They may therefore
lay to heart the lesson taught thereby ; and be sure,
moreover, that, if there be any error, it is probably
of omission of persons deceased, but supposed to be
still living, and that its correction would make the
case more unfavorable to them as a class.

Viewed in this light, the inferences from the fol-
lowing Tables will appear striking.

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TABLE II.

Comparing the Relative Vitality (or ability to resist destructive influences) of the Blind, at
Divers Periods after Admission, according to the combined Experience of Seven
American State Institutions for the Blind, ivith that of the Populations of Massachusetts and
of England respectively.

[Calculated by Mr. E. B. Elliott, Consulting Actuary, Boston.]

Years.

Number of Persons
admitted (known
as surviving or
deceased).

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Accord

ng to Elliott's Massachu-
setts Life Table.

According to Farr's English
Life Table.

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Number
that
should
be sur-
viving

(in
1859).

Deficiency of actual Survi-
vors, relative to the Num-
ber that should survive.

Number
that
should
be sur-
viving

(in
1859).

Deficiency of actual Survi-
vors, relative to the Num-
ber that should survive.

Num-
ber.

Per cent.

Num-
ber.

Per cent.

> s

3 Year
Group.

7 Year
Group.

3 Year

Group.

7 Year
Group.

1832

12.7

9.7

0.7

10.1

1.1

)

1833

16.4

36.3

4.3

( 7A

37.6

5.6

> 10.4

1834

15.9

21.8

—0.2*

)

22.6

0.6

)

1835

17.1

19.7

1.7

)

•12.5

20.4

2.4

■15.6

1836

15.5

25.5

4.5

> 17.8

26.5

5.5

>20.7

1837

16.3

35.1

8.1

36.3

9.3

)

1838

14.9

32.6

3.6.

)

33.8

4.8

1839

14.5

24.2

6.2

> 12.3

25.0

7.0

[l5.4

1840

16.6

29.9

0.9

31.0

2.0

)

1841

14.2

39.0

—1.0*

40.2

0.2

)

1842

16.5

46.5

6.5

> 6.0

■ 8.7

47.9

7.9

[ 8.4

-11.1

1843

12.7

60.2

3.2

)

61.5

4.5

)

1844

13.9

58.6

4.6

)

59.9

5.9

)

1845

14.6

37.3

5.3

> 8.9

38.3

6.3

\ 11.0

1846

15.3

44.6

2.6

)

45.6

3.6

)

1847

14.2

31.2

4.2

)

31.7

}

1848

163 11

38.3

Mil

39.1

8.1

\ 12.6

1849

52 16.8

54.2

2.2

)

- 7.6

55.1

3.1

)

}■ 9.1

1850

45 18.5

49.0

4.0

}

49.9

4.9

)

1851

15.3

35.2

1.2

[ 4.4

35.6

1.6

> 5.5

1852

11.5

26.7

—0.3*

)

26.7

—0.3*

)

1853

40 12.6

38.4

—1.6*

;

38.3

—1.7*

;

1854

25 ; 14.5 5

28.8

3.8

> 5.0

28.9

3.9

} 5.2

1855

15.7

32.8

2.8

)

33.0

3.0

1856

16.8

22.4

4.4

)

- 4.4

22.5

4.5

)

- 4.6

1857

17.6

15.7

—0.3*

[ 6.4

15.8

—0.2*

[ 6.7

1858

18.0

22.8

—0.2*

)

22.8

—0.2*

)

1859

•40

16.2

40.0

0.0

40.0

0.0

Note. — This table may be read thus: — Of the 68 persons admitted to the before-mentioned
institutions during the year 1844, 14 died previous to the middle of the year 1859, and 54 were sur-
viving in that year. The average age on admission of the 68 persons was 13 9 years, and the aver-
age number of years elapsed between the time of admission and the middle of the year 1859 was
about 15 years. According to the Massachusetts Life Table, the number that should be surviv-
ing in 1859 was 58.6, showing the number of actual survivors to have been 4 6 less than the num-
ber demanded by such Table. The deficiency (4.6 + 5.3 + 2.6 = 12.5) of actual survivors rela-
tive to the number that should survive of those admitted during the three years 1844, 1845, and
1846, was, according to the Massachusetts Table, 8.9 per cent of (58.6 -f- 37.3 + 44.6 = 140.5)
the number demanded ; and the deficiency of actual survivors relative to the number that should
survive of those admitted during the seven years 1839 to 1845 inclusive, was, according to the
same Life Table, 8.7 per cent of the number demanded. In like manner may be read the results
derived from comparison with the English Life Table.

* Excess.

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The foregoing Tables have been calculated from
data furnished by seven American State Institutions
for the Blind; namely, those of New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, and Mas-
sachusetts ; and are the results of careful discussion
of data, by far the most extensive and trustworthy,
it is believed, yet published in any country, relative
to this unfortunate class.

The whole number of blind persons admitted to
these institutions, concerning whom reliable informa-
tion was furnished relating either to their age on ad-
mission, or to their condition (as living or deceased)
in 1859, was 1,252. The condition in 1859 of 150
of these persons is not known ; consequently only the
remaining 1,102 cases were retained and employed in
the construction of the Tables.

In each of these Tables the numbers of the blind
actually surviving in 1859 are compared with the
numbers that should then be surviving, according to
two different Life Tables; — first, the Massachusetts
Life Table,* prepared by Mr. Elliott from the State
Census and Registration Returns for the Year 1855 ;
and secondly, the English Life Table,-!* prepared by
Dr. Farr of London, from the returns for the year
1841.

It should be remarked, that the intensity of mor-
tality between the ages of 15 and 45, (within which
interval of age the experience of the blind furnished
for these computations usually ranges,) is somewhat

* Proceedings of American Association for the Advancement of Sci-
ence, Montreal Meeting, 1857.
f Sixth Annual .Report of the Registrar-General (England).

greater in Massachusetts than in England, although
generally less at other periods of life.

In the first Table, the results are distinguished by
ages ; in the second and third, by the periods of time
elapsed between admission and the year 1859.

According to the first Table, it appears that, of
the entire 1,102 persons admitted, whose after-history
is known, 878 now survive ; whereas, the Life Table
of Massachusetts calls for about 964, and that of
England for about 979 survivors, — thereby indicat-
ing that the power of the blind, represented by the
returns of these institutions, to resist destructive in-
fluences is about nine per cent (more exactly, 8.9 per
cent) less than that of the population of Massachu-
setts, and ten per cent (10.3) less than that of the
population of all England ; and that the number of
deaths is from sixty to eighty per cent greater, accord-
ing to the tables employed for the comparison, than
the number required by such tables. It also appears
that the age of admission has but little influence in
causing this deficiency, the diminished rate of vitality
being nearly the same with those entering early in
life and those entering at the more advanced ages.
The irregularities manifest in the columns headed
" Per cent " must be attributed chiefly to the insuffi-
ciency of the data when minutely subdivided.

Inspection of the second Table shows, that, as a
rule, the greater the interval of time elapsing after
admission, the wider the divergence of the experi-
ence of these institutions for the blind from the re-
sults of observations relative to the health, strength,
and endurance of the population at large in Massa-
chusetts and in England.
3

This divergence is shown most clearly by those
results in which the data of seven consecutive years
have been grouped ; according to which it appears,
that for the period from which (to the year 1859)
only an average interval of three (3.2) years has
elapsed, the deficiency is from 4.4 to 4.6 per cent;
for that period from which an average interval of
ten (10.2) years has elapsed, the deficiency is from
7.6 to 9.1 per cent; for that period from which an
average interval of seventeen (16.6) years has elapsed,
the deficiency was from 8.7 to 11.1 per cent; and
for the seven-year period from which to the middle
of the year 1859 an average interval of twenty-four
(23.6) years has elapsed, the deficiency was from
12.5 to 15.6 per cent.

These facts accord with what might a priori be
expected. The pupils on admission to these insti-
tutions are, as a rule, comparatively healthy and
vigorous, constitutionally superior to the average
of those afflicted with loss of vision, and must be
considered as selected lives, — the best of their class.
A considerable length of time is requisite for the
favorable effect of selection to disappear. If the
select portion of the blind persons admitted into
these institutions have nine or ten per cent less of
vital force, of ability to resist destructive influ-
ences,— if they are less fitted than the community
generally, by constitution and mode of life, for
anticipating and combating adverse influences in
the struggle for existence which is the lot of all, —
it is safe to conclude that the deficiency in vital
force of those born blind, or born to become blind,
as a whole, considerably exceeds these rates.

The interval of time through which these observa-
tions extend is quite limited; the first admissions
to these institutions, reported, having been in the
year 1832, — from the middle of which year to that
of 1859 is an interval of but twenty-seven years.
With longer intervals of time, the divergence would
doubtless have been wider, and the deficiency rate
still greater.

The direct and plain inference from them is, that
the blind, as a class, do not live as long as other
people. The indirect, but almost equally plain in-
ference is, that during their shortened years they
have less health and strength, less ability for the
active duties, and consequently for the pleasures, of
life. This is a sad thought were it only about one
person, but how much sadder is it when it touches a
large class ! There are, probably, about 50,000 blind
persons in Great Britain and the United States to-
gether, of whom almost all were born blind, or born
to become blind early in life. By being " born to be-
come blind," is meant that a person is born with such
constitutional tendencies, that certain forms of disease,
which in other persons may affect any one of various
organs, in him are sure to affect the visual organs.
These seem to be the weak points in his system.
They are so feebly endowed with vital force, that
they are destroyed or weakened by disease or acci-
dents which would not cause lasting injury to ordi-
nary eyes. Such persons, that is, those who are born
without sight, and those who lose it early in life, con-
stitute what is called the class of the blind, which
does not properly include those whose sight fails
from old age, or who gradually cease to see.
i

Now if we could draw our statistics from this
great class, and not from the favored few who have
been taught in schools, the average duration of life
would be much less. We should probably find the
average amount of vital force, or power to resist de-
structive agencies, to be nearly one fifth less than
that of ordinary persons. We should then under-
stand why it is that we so seldom see or hear of
an old blind person, that is, one blind from birth
or from childhood.

Of course it is less important to live long than it
is to live actively, usefully, and happily. But here
is the rub ; the very cause which lessens the length
of life, lessens also its activity, usefulness, and hap-
piness. Thus the lot of the blind seems harder and
sadder than it is usually thought to be. Their years
are not only fewer, but fuller of the ills which flesh
is heir to. Their infirmities, and the consequences
of them, if uncorrected, tend to turn the thoughts and
emotions inward upon self, and to lessen the force
of generous sympathies. But thanks to God, who
has endowed man with self-consciousness and the
power of self-control, all these evils may be lessened,
if not quite counteracted, by wisdom, faith, and cour-
age on the part of the sufferers, especially if they
are aided by a little active sympathy from their more
favored fellows. The knowledge that blindness is a
greater calamity even than it is usually thought to
be, and that, when not counteracted, it lowers the
tone of the mental as well as the physical nature,
should urge society to more strenuous efforts of be-
nevolence, and should cause the blind themselves to
make a more vigorous struggle for life, and for a

share of all the pleasures, duties, and responsibilities
thereof.

Let the graduates of schools for the blind, then,
bear continually in mind, that they are less fully
endowed with vital force than other men, and there-
fore are more liable to sickness and early death ; but
let them not forget that the persistence of life and
the degree of health depend on something besides
original vital force ; that is, upon wise observance of
the laws of life, upon temperance, cheerfulness, and
virtue.

By avoiding the thousand and one common sins of
omission and commission against our physical nature,
they will live, if not quite as long as other men, yet
at least more vigorously and more happily than they
would otherwise have done.

Let them ponder the fact, that though the nervous
system is no more acute by nature in them than it is
in other men, perhaps usually less so, yet that by
training of particular senses they often attain what
seems to others marvellous acuteness. Then let
them apply the same system of training to their
mental as well as bodily faculties, and they may
count upon the same measure of success.

By diligent and wise training and intellectual ex-
ercise, they may rise far above the ordinary level of
mental attainments, and some may reach honorable
eminence. Let them make earnest and vigorous
efforts to resist the tendency which their infirmity
has to turn the thoughts and emotions inward, until
each sufferer becomes to himself the morbid centre
of a morbid universe. Let them strive by all means
to widen the circle of their sympathies, and to for-

get their infirmity in active duties, and in their care
and love for others. It is the duty of their teach-
ers to prepare them to make the most of the life
and of the powers that are given them ; but little
can be done by any teaching without their own ac-
tive and earnest co-operation, — that is, without faith,
courage, and diligence on their part.

They must consider that the precious boon of life
is given to them, as it is to others, in trust, and upon
generous but inflexible conditions ; and that not one
jot or tittle of the consequences of their conduct will
be spared them by reason of their infirmity. As no
law of gravity will be slackened to save them the
consequence of a misstep, so no law of morals will
be relaxed to lessen for them the suffering which is
bound to its violation, as effect is bound to cause.
On the other hand, no virtuous and good thought or
deed can be unrewarded to them, any more than it
can to others.

The blind must consider that the capacity of
their life for activity and goodness and happiness
is so vast, that there should be no question about
its value as compared with that of others. It should
be gratefully accepted, and cherished and length-
ened as much as may be. It should be improved
and enjoyed to the utmost; and spent so virtuously
and joyfully as to make it the best tribute of praise
and gratitude to its Great Giver.

THE SCHOOL.

There have been no marked changes in the man-
agement or condition of the School. The same

system of instruction has been followed during the
past year as during so many former ones, and mostly
with the same teachers. Under their care the pupils
have gone on industriously in their studies, acquiring
useful knowledge, mostly by means of oral instruc-
tion, and developing their own mental powers by
regular exercise thereof. A part of each day is
devoted to the common branches of English edu-
cation. All are taught reading, spelling, writing,
arithmetic, and geography ; and the advanced class is
taught algebra, geometry, natural philosophy, physi-
ology, and the like. They generally take great inter-
est in their studies, and do not need any of the usual
stimulants to diligence and earnestness in the pursuit
of knowledge. Indeed, although the close observer
may see, as was before remarked, that the standard
of bodily health and vigor is lower than in ordinary
schools, he must also see that the standard of men-
tal activity is higher ; that is, if the pupils are drawn
from the same ranks of life. This is owing partly to
the fact that blindness tends to disturb the harmoni-
ous development of the mental powers, forcing some
while retarding othersj and partly to the change
which is made in the usual method of instruction, so
as to adapt it to the peculiar wants of the pupil.

Blind children are no more inquisitive by nature
than children who see ; but the range of their obser-
vation and thought being circumscribed in certain
directions, their attention is apt to be more eager
and keen in other directions. So far from requiring
to be urged to thought and reflection, the danger is
that the blind will indulge in them too much, and at
too early a period of life. Their childhood is too apt

to be abridged. They do not play and frolic long
enough. As a general rule, they take interest in
matters which others of their age care little about.
The duration of the period of activity of the percep-
tive faculties is shortened ; and the reflective faculties
come too early into action. Hence the teacher has
no difficulty in securing the attention of his blind
pupils. If they do not learn, it is his fault.

As an instance of the interest they feel in contem-
poraneous history, it may be stated, that, during the
late sharp struggle in Italy, the older pupils not only
wanted to hear all the news of the war, but desired
to understand fully the movements of the armies ; and
a map of the country was prepared expressly, so that
they could feel out the water-courses, mountains, and
positions of the chief towns and fortresses.

MUSIC.

The liberality of your Board in granting funds
for purchasing new musical instruments, and provid-
ing the necessary means for improving the system
of musical instruction, has-been fruitful of much
pleasure and profit to the pupils. The purchase
of twelve new and beautiful pianos in place of the
old and imperfect ones, and the addition of many
new instruments to the band, have given fresh life to
the teachers and spirit to the pupils. This branch
of our system of instruction is now in a satisfactory
state, though it may be that the enthusiasm among
the pupils for musical studies, if not controlled,
will act unfavorably upon their progress in other
branches.

The musical sense, or perception of harmonious
relations in sounds, certainly is not more acute by
nature in the blind than in others, — probably it is
less so ; but, for plain reasons, it is so much culti-
vated by them, that in a given number of blind per-
sons there will be a larger proportion of musicians
than among an equal number of ordinary persons
taken promiscuously. For reasons often repeated,
instruction in music forms a prominent branch in all
schools for the blind ; and the selection of a teacher
for this branch is an important but difficult matter.

In every civilized society there are many persons
who have musical taste and acquirements, and who
are good performers ; but it is hard to find among
them one who unites in himself all the various qual-
ities of mind and heart which are desirable for a
good teacher of music. If we superadd the special
qualities desirable for such a special duty as teacher
of a school for the blind, the difficulty is increased.

Of course it is very much harder to find such a
person among the blind themselves, because the
number from which to choose is so much smaller.
This matter is apt to be overlooked by the blind
in their eagerness for employment.

Nature does not create men all alike, and pitch
them into the world like bits of clay, to be fashioned
just as well into one vessel as into another; but she
sorts them, each sort having special fitness for spe-
cial purposes; and there is a wonderful adjustment
of the number given of each sort to the number
needed.

Suppose, for instance, that among the million in-
habitants of Massachusetts there are only about one

thousand of the sort best fitted to make teachers of
youth. If we want one to teach music well, the diffi-
culty of finding him is greater, because, besides the
general qualities to be found in all of his sort, we
want special qualities for this special want.

If now we apply the same rule to the blind, we
should find but very few, hardly more than two or
three, of the sort fitted for teaching common branch-
es ; and if we come to the special sort of teachers,
the chance is there will not be one.

Now the fact agrees with the theory ; for among
the many living graduates of this School, there
are but two or three well fitted by natural endow-
ment for general teachers, and not one well fitted for
the more difficult post of teaching music in a large
establishment. As we widen the circle, however,
and comprehend the graduates of other schools, the
probability of the existence of a person having any
given qualifications increases.

One having many of the requisite natural qualifica-
tions, and great acquired advantages, presented him-
self last year in the person of Mr. T. J. Campbell of
Tennessee. Upon the general principle that, other
things being equal, a blind person should have pref-
erence, Mr. Campbell was taken for a time upon trial,
and, having succeeded perfectly, was engaged as teach-
er and superintendent of the department of music.

The success which has followed his earnest labors
is satisfactory to his employers, and must be highly
encouraging to the blind generally. He has been
placed upon the same footing, and paid the same
salary, as his predecessors, who were persons ranking
high in the musical profession, and some of them
distinguished by peculiar gifts.

PRINTING IN RAISED LETTERS.

Something has been done during the year towards
enlarging the library of the blind, but not much,
because the means are so limited. Our press, how-
ever, has not been quite idle ; for, besides several
editions from stereotyped plates, one new and impor-
tant work has been printed, namely, Paley's Natural
Theology.

This will be a very valuable book for the blind,
because, aside from the merit of the main argument,
it conveys a great amount of information upon sub-
jects connected with every-day life and its duties.
The book has been secured to the blind principally
by the efforts of Mr. E. P. Deering, of Portland,
Maine. This young gentleman, formerly a pupil of
our Institution, has always manifested much interest
in the welfare of his fellow-sufferers. Enjoying the
opportunity of cultivating his literary taste, and
knowing well what a source of pleasure books are to
the blind, he exerted himself among his friends, and
raised the larger part of the money necessary to print
this interesting and important work.

The enterprise of printing for the blind is one
that commends itself to the understanding and the
heart of all who look at it closely, because, while it
is hardly possible it should be abused, or perverted
to the pecuniary profit of any one, it is sure to bring
great comfort and joy to many. A small sum of
money, wisely appropriated to printing a book for
the blind, is like good seed planted in good soil, that
will bear abundant fruit through many seasons.

-' ■

WORK DEPARTMENT.

The Work Department has been in a satisfactory
condition, all things considered. The sale of articles
manufactured by the blind has increased with the
general revival of business. The average number of
blind workmen has been greater than during the
last year. The amount of wages paid to them was
$3,316.43, against $3,022.07 paid during the pre-
ceding twelve months. The sales have amounted to
$14,520.78, being a gain of $535.18 over the pre-
ceding year. This of course represents principally
the value of manual work.

The good effects of the system of an independent
Work Department, in which the workmen rely upon
their own efforts, and receive only what they can
earn, is becoming more and more apparent in many
ways.

Several of the young men who were formerly sup-
posed to be incapable of supporting themselves, who
had no confidence in their own ability, and who, so
long as they were boarded and cared for, hung list-
lessly about, not earning enough to' pay for their
bread, now that they are thrown upon their own re-
sources, and obliged to husband their means, live
quite independently and comfortably.

Of course there are a few who have not proved
equal to the task of supporting themselves, even
with the indirect aid given them by the establish-
ment ; and they have been obliged to fall back upon
the towns whence they came. It is sad to think of
such cases. It is hard to resist the impulse to re-
lieve them by a sacrifice of the principle which for-

bids their being congregated in one establishment.
But it is believed that, in the long run, greater good
will be done, and less evil encountered, by adhering
to the principle. If aid is to be given in special
cases, it had better be done at the several homes of
those who need it. In this way the number who
remain idle will be very small, and it will be made
up mainly of those whose presence would be most
undesirable in a working hive.

The advantage of our system of work is not
confined to those who are actually engaged in the
shop, for there are several others who have been
supplied with tools and stock, and who work at
home on their own account. It is desirable, in 'some
respects, we should be able to furnish employment
to a greater number of workmen in the workshop ;
but it is still more desirable to increase the means
of giving employment to others in their own homes
in the country. In this way we shall avoid the evil
of congregating the blind together in undue num-
bers, and shall leave them as we found them, and
as they should be, — diffused among the community
at large. If the effect of an institution for the young
blind is to congregate adult blind in undue numbers
in its neighborhood, it will of course so far lessen the
amount of the good which it does to the commuuity.
Such congregation, if persistent, is unnatural and
undesirable.

Upon the whole, the year that has just closed may
be looked back upon with grateful emotions, for it has
given opportunity of doing good in a pleasant path of
duty, that has not been altogether lost. It is true, in-

deed, that the Institution is not so richly endowed in
the world's wealth as to enable it to meet fully all the
wants of those whose mission it is to aid and assist.
More books should be printed ; more labor should be
furnished to men and women at home, and more
things done in various ways than can be done with
the means at command. This, however,^should only
encourage to greater effort, so as to make up for lack
of material by increase of zeal and diligence.

The undersigned is happy to testify that these
qualities of zeal and diligence have not been wanting
in the corps of persons — the matron and teachers
and attendants — whose duty it is to minister to the
wants and promote the true interest of the pupils.
The general moral tone of the household is high ;
and the prevailing spirit is that of good-will and
kindness. There is the utmost punctuality in the
division of time, and economy in its use; there is
sobriety without sadness, frugality without meanness,
temperance without asceticism, labor without exhaus-
tion, and good works without parade thereof. There
is a docile and trusting spirit on the part of the pu-
pils ; and the intercourse between them and those
who care for them is most kind and confidential.

The undersigned may speak of these things without
impropriety, because they are brought about mainly
by the gentle but firm influence exerted by the matron
and by the teachers, several of whom are blind. They
merit, and they have, his grateful acknowledgments.

All of which is respectfully submitted.

s. G. HOWE.

APPENDIX.

GENERAL ABSTRACT OF THE

Dr. Perkins Institution and Ilassachtcsetts Asylum for the

For amount paid at sundry dates, on Drafts of the Auditor,
as per account rendered : —

For construction account, $1,434.50

" printing and binding books in raised letters, . 1,331.75

" pianos and musical instruments, .... 1,787.50

" coal and fuel, 859.00

Expense of Boys' Workshop, 100.00

Subsistence account, salaries, and other expenses, as

per accounts rendered and audited, . . . 16,555.27

$ 22,068.02
Balance to new account, . 739.69

$22,807.71

(Errors excepted.)
Boston, September 30, 1859.

TREASURER'S REPORT FOR 1859.

Blind, in Account with T. B. Wales, Treasurer. Cr.

By cash on hand from old account, $ 3,618.23

" four quarterly payments of State appropriations (Massa-
chusetts), 12,000.00

State of Maine, for beneficiaries, . . $1,923.33

" Vermont, " 800.00

" Connecticut, " ... 982.34

" Rhode Island, " ... 289.49

private pupils, . . . . . . 45.07

4,040.23
1,877.90

By dividends on stocks and bonds,

By sale of books and apparatus : —

To Tennessee Institution for Blind,

% 73.30

" Missouri "

89.59

" Dist. of Columbia "

29.75

" New York "

116.75

" Pennsylvania "

59.25

" Michigan "

. 95.00

" South Carolina "

28.50

" Maryland "

. 32.63

" sundry persons, .

103.67

Collected by E. P. Deering for printing books in raised

letters,

. 503.00

1,131.35
Received on account of Laura Bridgman, .... 110.00

" " Joseph Harris, 15.00

By dividend on Mrs. Watson's legacy, .... 15.00

$22,807.71

Signed, THOMAS B. WALES, Treasurer.

Boston, October 5, 1859.
The undersigned, a Committee appointed to examine the accounts of
the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, for the
year 1858-59, have attended to that duty, and hereby certify that they
find the accounts to be properly vouched and correctly cast, and the bal-
ance to be seven hundred and thirty-nine and T6^- dollars, — $ 739.69.

The Treasurer also exhibited to us evidence of the following property
belonging to the Institution : —

9 shares New England Bank, .

$ 900.00

17 "

State Bank,

1,020.00

25 "

Tremont Bank, .....

2,500.00

12 "

Columbian Bank, ....

1,200.00

20 "

Boston and Providence Railroad,

1,642.50

85 «

Western Railroad, ....

8,218.75

30 "

Boston and Maine Railroad,

2,942.00

25 "

Concord Railroad, ....

1,250.00

15 "

Boston and Worcester Railroad, .

1,155.00

4 certificates Western Railroad 6 per cent Bonds,

4,000.00

$ 24,828.25

Deed of land in South Boston, dated June, 1840,

$ 755.68

« « « March, 1847,

5,000.00

" " " Sept., 1845,

5,500.00

« « " Jan., 1850,

1,762.50

" " " July, 1850,

1,020.25

" « " May, 1855,

3,710.00

17.748.43

Aug., 1855, $450.00
April, 1855, 1,311.50

1,761.50

$44,338.18
N. H. Emmons,

Joseph N. Howe < Committee.

LIST OF BOOKS

PRINTED AT THE

PERKINS INSTITUTION AND MASSACHUSETTS
ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

WITH PRICES OF SUCH AS ARE FOR SALE.

No. of

Volumes.

Price per
Volume.
$3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00

Lardner's Universal History, .
Howe's Geography, .

" Atlas of the Islands, .
English Reader, First Part, .
' " " Second Part, .

The Harvey Boys,
The Pilgrim's Progress, .
Baxter's Call, ....
English Grammar, .
Life of Mclancthon, .
Constitution of the United States,
Book of Diagrams,
Viri Rom re, ....
Peirce's Geometry, with Diagrams,
Political Class-Book,
First Tables of Logarithms,
Second " " .

Principles of Arithmetic, .
Astronomical Dictionary,
Philosophy of Natural History, .
Rudiments of Natural Philosophy,
Cyclopaedia, ....
The Book of Common Prayer,
Guide to Devotion,
New Testament (small), .

(large), .
Old Testament,
Book of Psalms,

" Proverbs, .
Psalms in Verse,
Psalms and Hymns,
The Dairyman's Daughter, .

" Spelling-Book, .

" Sixpenny Glass of "Wine, .
Howe's Blind Child's Manual, .
« " " First Book,

<i « " Second Book

« « « Third Book,

Collection of Hymns for the Blind,
Milton's Poetical Works, .
Pope's Essay on Man, and I bound together,
Diderot's Essay on the Blind, J
Paley's Evidences,
Combe on the Constitution of Man,
Vicar of Wakefield, .

Total number, 63

The above amounts barely cover the cost. All expenses of packing and
transportation have to be charged extra.

We are prepared, also, to manufacture maps, globes, and other school ap-
paratus for the blind, and to deliver them to other institutions, or to indigent
blind persons, at actual cost.

3.00
3.00

2.00
2.00

3.00
3.00

2.00
3.00
2.00
2.00
3.00
3.00
3.00

2.50

2.50
2.50

3.00

1.50
1.50
1.50
3.00
3.00

3.00

4.00
4.50
3.00

TERMS OF ADMISSION.

Indigent blind persons, of suitable age and character, belonging
to Massachusetts, can be admitted gratuitously, by application to
the Governor for a warrant.

The following is a good form, though any other will do : —

" To his Excellency the Governor : —

" Sir, — My son, (or daughter, or nephew, or niece, as the case
may be,) named A. B., and aged , cannot be instructed in the
common schools for want of sight. I am unable to pay for the
tuition at the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for
the Blind, and I request that your Excellency will grant a warrant
for free admission.

" Very respectfully, ."

The application may be made by any relation or friend, if the
parents are dead or absent.

It should be accompanied by a certificate from one or more of
the selectmen of the town, or aldermen of the city, in this form : —

" I hereby certify, that, in my opinion, Mr. f is not

a wealthy person, and that he cannot afford to pay $ 200 per annum
for his child's instruction.

(Signed,) " ."

There should also be a certificate, signed by some regular phy-
sician, in this form : —

" I certify, that, in my opinion, has not sufficient vision

to be taught in common schools ; and that he is free from epilepsy,
and from any contagious disease.

(Signed,) " ."

These papers should be done up together, and directed to " The
Secretary of the Commonwealth, State House, Boston, Mass."

An obligation will be required from some responsible person, that
the pupil shall be removed without expense to the Institution, when-
ever it may be desirable to discharge him.

The usual period of tuition is from five to seven years.

Indigent blind persons residing in Maine, New Hampshire, Ver-
mont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, by applying as above to the
" Commissioners for the Blind," care of the Secretary of State in
the respective States, can obtain warrants of free admission.

For further particulars, address Dr. S. G. Howe, Director of the
Institution for the Blind, Boston, Mass.

The relatives or friends of the blind who may be sent to the Insti-
tution are requested to furnish information in answer to the follow-
ing questions : —

1. What is the age of the applicant?

2. Where was he born ? 0

3. Was he born blind ?

4. If not born blind, at what age did he become so ?

5. What is the supposed cause of the blindness ?

6. Have there been any cases of blindness, or deafness, or in-
sanity, in the family of the applicant, among his brothers and sis-
terSj parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, or cousins ?

8. Were the parents or the grandparents of the applicant related
to each other by blood ? If so, in what degree ?

OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION

FOR 1859-60.

PRESIDENT.

EDWARD BROOKS.

VICE-PRESIDENT.

STEPHEN FAIRBANKS.

TREASURER.

THOMAS B. WALES.

SECRETARY.

SAMUEL G. HOWE.

TRUSTEES.

JOHN A. ANDREW,
THEOPHILUS P. CHANDLER,
GEORGE B. EMERSON,
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS,*
JOSEPH LYMAN,
SAMUEL MAY,
JULIUS PALMER,*
WILLIAM PERKINS,
BENJAMIN S. ROTCH*
GEORGE R. RUSSELL,
JAMES STURGIS,
WILLIAM D. TICKNOR *

* Trustees in behalf of the State.

PUBLIC DOCUMENT No. 39.

TWENTY-NINTH ANNUAL REPORT

THE TRUSTEES

PERKINS' INSTITUTION

Steatjntseits %^\m\x for % §[infr,

TO THE CORPORATION.

BOSTON:

WILLIAM WHITE, PRINTER TO THE STATE.
1860.

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES.

Perkins' Institution, and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, )
Boston, September 29th, 1860. \

To the Corporation :

Gentlemen, — The undersigned have the honor to give the
following account of their trust for the year which closes
this day.

They have visited and inspected the establishment as fre-
quently as is required by the By-Laws, and found the premises
in good condition.

They are satisfied that the pupils are well and kindly treated,
and that the internal affairs of the institution are administered
in a spirit of wisdom and kindness. It is creditable both to
pupils and officers, that in so large an establishment good order
and obedience are maintained without any severity of discipline,
and without any other punishment than moral disapprobation,
or the privation of certain privileges ; because in things pertain-
ing to moral conduct, the blind are like ordinary persons, and
are to be treated and directed according to ordinary principles.

The undersigned by their Committee on accounts, have had
control of the finances, and audited the bills for all expenses.
The Director has the immediate responsibility for all expendi-
tures ; but all the bills are audited, recorded, and paid by drafts
upon the Treasurer.

The expenses are necessarily large ; and they must continue
to be large so long as the buildings and real estate require such
large outlay for repairs. The main building was not built with
a view to its present use ; and though convenient, is unneces-
sarily extensive. It has numerous piazzas and outworks,
which require frequent repairs.

4 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

Considerable sums have been spent in past years for printing
books in raised letters, and for improving the means of instruct-
ing the blind generally. Whenever a pressing call has been
made for any matter immediately connected with the great
object of the institution, money has been granted by the Trus-
tees to meet it. In this way the expenses have generally
exceeded the regular income. Hitherto the deficit has been
made up by donations and legacies, to which no special con-
ditions were attached, and which did not require to be funded.
By means of these funds great good has been done, and the
way opened for doing much more. In some respects, the ex-
penditure has been a sort of investment, for the institution has
been provided with ample means and appliances for the instruc-
tion and training of youth within its walls ; and besides this,
has contributed much to advance the general cause of the edu-
cation of the blind.

The regular sources of income are, first, an annual grant of
twelve thousand dollars by the legislature of Massachusetts,
in consideration of which, blind children belonging in the
State, whose parents are not wealthy, can be admitted gratui-
tously.

Second, beneficiaries from all the New England States who
are received upon warrants from the respective governors and
charged two hundred dollars a year.
Third, private pupils.

Fourth, the income from the personal estate, which now
amounts to about twenty-five thousand dollars and which is
safely invested.

It has not been deemed advisable for many years past to ask
the legislature for any extra allowance, but it will become
necessary to do so. A pressing want begins to be felt of some
things too costly to be procured without largely exceeding the
regular income. For instance, the large organ, the gift of Mr.
George Lee, has been in constant use for about twenty years, and
will need to be replaced soon by a new one. Such an instru-
ment as will afford all the required advantages for practice will
cost at least six thousand dollars.

Again, there is great need of efficient apparatus for heating
and ventilating the main building. The one now in use is old,
cumbrous and nearly worn out. A new one would cost at least

I860.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— Xo. 39. 5

five thousand dollars ; but it would be an immense improve-
ment in many respects. It would be worked at much less
expense of fuel than the present one, and would make the
building more comfortable and safe for the inmates.

The importance of this matter has been felt more and more,
for several years past ; and would have been pressed upon the
attention of the Corporation, were it not that there has been a
growing probability of the removal of the institution from its
present location to a more favorable one.

The Treasurer's account, duly credited, is herewith submit-
ted ; also an abstract showing the sources whence the income
is derived and the principal items of expenditure. The details
of both may be found in the books. The cash balance in the
Treasurer's hands at the beginning of the year was seven hun-
dred and thirty-nine dollars and sixty-nine cents, ($739.69);
and the personal estate, consisting of bank and railroad stocks,
was twenty-four thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight dol-
lars and twenty-five cents, (121,828.25); the present cash bal-
ance is one thousand and sixty-nine dollars and twenty-nine
cents, (11,069.29); and the personal estate at the same valua-
tion is twenty-five thousand three hundred and twenty-eight
dollars and twenty five cents, ($25,328.25), showing a small
increase.

The Report of the Director will show the number of pupils
entered and discharged, the condition of the school and of the
workshop, and other matters of interest.

The inventories of real and personal estate are submitted in
detail.

The Trustees most heartily commend the institution to the
attention and good will of the legislature and of the public.

THEOPHILUS P. CHANDLER.

STEPHEN FAIRBANKS.

JOSEPH LYMAN.

SAMUEL MAY.

JULIUS A. PALMER.

WM. PERKINS.

JAMES STURGIS.

WM. D. TICKNOR.

BENJ. S. ROTCIL

JOHN A. ANDREW.

ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

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PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 39.

Boston, September 28, 18G0.

The undersigned, a Committee appointed to examine the accounts of the
Perkins' Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, for the year
1859-60, have attended to that duty, and hereby certify that they find the
accounts to be properly vouched and correctly cast, and the balance to be ten
hundred and sixty-nine and j$g dollars — $ 1,069.29.

The Treasurer also exhibited to us evidence of the following property be-
longing to the Institution : —

9 shares New England Bank, .... $900 00

17 shares State Bank, 1,020 00

25 shares Tremont Bank, 2,500 00

5 shares Tremont Bank (new), .... 500 00

12 shares Columbian Bank, 1,200 00

20 shares Boston and Providence Railroad, . . 1,642 50

85 shares Western Railroad, 8,218 75

30 shares Boston and Maine Railroad, . . . 2,942 00

25 shares Concord Railroad, 1,250 00

15 shares Boston and Worcester Railroad, . . 1,155 00

4 certificates Western Railroad 6 per cent, bonds, . 4,000 00

Deed of land in South Boston, dated June, 1840, . -1755 68

March, 1847, . 5,000 00

Sept. 1845, . 5,500 00

Jan. 1850, . 1,762 50

July, 1850, . 1,020 25

May, 1855, . 3,710 00

Deed of land in South Boston, dated Aug., 1855, . $450 00

April, 1855, . 1,311 50

525,328 25

17,74S 43

1,761 50

$44,838 18

N. H. EMMONS,
THO. T. BOUVE,

Committee.

ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct. '60.

General Abstract of the Account of the Work Department, Oct. 1, 18 GO.

Assets.

Stock on hand, $5,114 08

Cash on hand, 1,509 01

Debts due, 5,034 69

Balance of indebtedness, 3,310 78

$14,968 59

Liabilities.
Due Institution, original capital and loan, . . . $13,756 96
Due sundry individuals, ...... 1,211 63

$14,968 59

Amount of indebtedness October 1, 1859, $3,S87 89

" " October 1, 1860, 3,310 78

Gain for one year, $577 11

Amount of Wages paid to blind persons from October 1, 1858,

to October 1, 1859, 3,316 43

Amount of Wages paid to blind persons from October 1, 1859,

to October 1, 1860, 3,722 90

Amount of Sales from October 1, 1858, to October 1, 1859, . 14,480 78
" " October 1, 1859, to October 1, 1860, . 15,199 45

A correct copy,

M. R. RAYMOND, Book-keeper:

PUBLIC DOCUMENT No. 33.

THIRTIETH ANNUAL REPORT

THE TRUSTEES

PERKINS' INSTITUTION

lltassaxjjnsctts ^sjjlmn. for % $linfc

OCTOBER, 1861.

BOSTON:

WILLIAM WHITE, PRINTER TO THE STATE.
1861.

tHommcmiuealtl) of iWa0sacl)tt0ctte.

Perkins' Institution, and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, )
Boston, October 10, 1861. J

To His Excellency the Governor :

The undersigned has the honor to transmit the Annual Report
of the Trustees of this Institution for the year ending Septem-
ber 30, 1861.

Respectfully,

S. G. HOWE,
Secretary of the Corporation.

ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES.

Perkins' Institution, and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind. )
Boston, October 9, 1861. \

To the Corporation of the Perkins' Institution, and Massachusetts
Asylum for the Blind, and the Legislature :

The undersigned, Trustees of the institution, respectfully
submit the following Report for the year closing September 80,
1861:

The general condition of the establishment has been very
satisfactory.

♦ The health of the inmates has been good. There have been
no epidemics and no case of fatal sickness.

The average number of blind persons connected with the
institution has been 120. The entrances, discharges, &c, is
set forth in the Report of the Director.

The same officers and teachers so many years employed in the
immediate direction and government of the establishment, have
discharged their several duties satisfactorily during the past
year. There is no change of any consequence to note in this
respect.

The report of the Treasurer, herewith submitted, will show
the state of the funds, and the general receipts and expenditures
for the year.

A more detailed account is given in the Abstract of Expendi-
tures, and the items will be found in the Steward's account.

All bills are audited by a Committee of this Board, monthly ;
and the Treasurer pays out money only upon this requisition.

Besides its real estate in South Boston, the institution has a
capital of only 825,000. Of course it is dependent upon the

1861.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 33. 5

annual grant from the State of Massachusetts for its support.
This is very liberal, and suffices for necessary current expenses,
but unfortunately it leaves no margin for extra expenses, which
are sometimes necessary.

For instance, it has become very desirable to procure a new
organ, the old one, provided by the munificence of Mr. George
Lee, some twenty-five years ago, being worn out by constant use,
by day and by night, almost every day in the year. A new one,
such as was desirable, would cost about six thousand dollars.
If the Trustees should expend this sum, it would have to be
from the capital, and would reduce it 33 per cent. They there-
fore applied last winter to the legislature for aid. It was not
granted in a direct form, but an increase of the annual grant
was made ; and by help of this, in a few years enough may
be saved to make the purchase. It is to be hoped, however,
that some aid will be had from donations or legacies. Such
have been, made from time to time in years past, and they have
enabled the institution to do a great deal for the common cause
of the education of the Blind throughout the country, by
providing books and getting up improved apparatus for facili-
tating instruction.

There is reason to believe that the general, though incorrect
impression, that the institution is richly endowed, has prevented
it from receiving so much aid in this way as it would have
otherwise done.

There are various ways in which the benefits of this institution
could be extended to a greater number of persons, if its
pecuniary means were increased.

For instance the work department, for supplying work to
adult blind men and women, might be enlarged, and more
persons employed.

It is hard to conceive a better form of active beneficence, or
one less liable to abuse, than a wise expenditure of money to
enlarge an establishment which has proved, by twelve years'
experience, that with a little helping hand, blind men and
women may, by their own diligence and thrift, support
themselves.

The inventories of real and personal estate are herewith
submitted.

6 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

The Trustees again commend the establishment to the
Corporation, the Legislature, and the public, as well deserving
their attention and favor.

Respectfully submitted by the Trustees.

THOMAS T. BOUVE.
THEOPHILUS P. CHANDLER.
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS.
SAMUEL MAY.
JOSEPH LYMAN.
BENJAMIN S. ROTCH, Jr.
WILLIAM PERKINS.
W. D. T1CKNOR.
JAMES STURGIS.
JOSIAH QUINCY, Jr.
JOSEPH B. THAXTER, Jr.

1861.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 33.

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ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

[Oct.

Bostox, October 2, 1SG1. .

The undersigned, a Committee appointed to examine the accounts of the
Perkins' Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind for the year
1860-61, have attended to that duty, and hereby certify that they find the
payments to be properly vouched and correctly cast, and the balance to be
twenty hundred and eighteen and T^¥ dollars — $2,018 04.

The Treasurer also exhibited to us evidence of the following property
belonging to the Institution : —

16 shares Columbian Bank, 81,600 00

9 shares New England Bank, .

17 shares State Bank, ....
25 shares Tremont Bank, ....

5 shares Tremont Bank (new,)
20 shares Boston and Providence Railroad,
85 shares Western Railroad,
30 shares Boston and Maine Railroad,
25 shares Concord Railroad,
15 shares Boston and Worcester Railroad,

4 certificates Western Railroad 6 per cent. Bonds,

Deed of land in South Boston, dated June, 1840,

March, 1847,
Sept., 1845,
January, 1S50,
July, 1850,
May, 1855,

Deed of land in South Boston, dated August, 1855,
" " " " April, 1855,

. $900

. 1,020

. 2,500

500

. 1,642

. 8,218

. 2,942

. 1,250

. 1,155

. 4,000 00

$755

. 5,000

. 5,500

. 1,762

. 1,020

. 3,710

. $450 00

. 1,311

24,128

17,748 43

1,761 50

§45,238 18

N. H. EMMONS,
JOSEPH N. HO AVE,

Committee.

1861.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 33. 9

General Abstract of the Account of the Work Department, Oct. 1, 1861.

Assets.

Stock on hand, $5,989 94

Cash on hand, 1,406 79

Debts due, 3,424 15

Balance of indebtedness, 3,738 36

$14,559 24

Liabilities.
Due Institution, for original capital and loan, . . $13,756 96

Due sundry individuals, 802 28

$14,559 24

Amount of indebtedness October 1, 1860, $3,310 78

Amount of indebtedness October 1, 1861, 3,738 36

Loss this year, $427 58

Amount of Wages paid to blind persons from October 1, 1860, to

October 1, 1861, $3,247 61

Amount of Wages paid to blind persons from October 1, 1859, to

October 1, 1860, 3,722 90

Amount of Sales from October 1, 1860, to October 1, 1861, . . $11,356 41
" " October 1, 1859, to October 1, 1860, . . 15,199 45

A correct copy,

M. R. RAYMOND, Book-keeper.

PUBLIC DOCUMENT No. 33.

THIRTY-FIRST ANNUAL REPORT

THE TRUSTEES

PERKINS' INSTITUTION

Utassaxjmsetis %qhm for ijje §Iitrtr.

OCTOBER, 1862

BOSTON:

WRIGHT & POTTER, STATE PRINTERS,
No. 4 Spring Lane.

18 63.

CommoiTWcaltl) of ifiteactjuaette-

REPORT OE THE TRUSTEES.

Perkins' Institution, and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, )
Boston, September 30, 1862. j

To the Corporation :

Gentlemen, — The undersigned, Trustees, respectfully report
as follows, for the year closing this day.

It has been a peaceful and prosperous season with the
institution.

It has been, too, a season of general health. There have
been few cases of sickness ; and death has not entered the door.

The main purpose of the institution, which is to give to blind
children the same kind and degree of instruction as is given to
other children in the best common schools of the State, and
to train them up to industry, has been pursued steadily and
successfully during the year.

The general principle upon which the institution is con-
ducted, is to counteract, as far as may be, the unfavorable
effects (whether moral or physical) of the infirmity of blind-
ness ; to lessen by special training the disadvantages under
which its subjects labor ; and so make them conform in
character to those who see.

Gathering them together from different parts of the country,
and associating them together in two great families during
many years of their childhood and youth, does not at first
seem to be in accordance with this general principle ; but the
reasons for doing it are pressing, and have hitherto been
deemed satisfactory in all Christian lands.

4 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

Once together, the establishment is to be conducted in such
wise, as best to promote the interest and happiness of the blind,
with the least cost and detriment to the public.

Intermarriage should be discouraged, as it tends to increase
the number of blind in the community.

Permanent asylums should be discouraged ; since they tend
to intensify the unfavorable characteristics growing out of

blindness.

Gathering the blind from the country, and congregating
them for permanent residence in cities, should be avoided ; for
this is wrong to the city.

The period of residence of the pupils in the institution
should be as short as is consistent with a thorough course of
instruction. After that is finished they should not be encour-
aged to remain in the city, but should be sent forth to those
places in which the lines have fallen to them.

The finger of nature clearly points to a diffusion of abnor-
mal, of whatever kind, among the sound and normal ; and
forbids their congregation in groups.

Such are some of the guiding principles in the general
conduct of the institution.

The liberal allowance of funds by the legislature of Massa-
chusetts, together with the income from pupils of other States,
have enabled the trustees to carry on the establishment for
many years without encroaching upon the small capital.
During the past year heavy expenses had to be incurred for
repairing and painting the main building.

By frugality in the household, and saving whenever saving
is true economy, means have been found for procuring costly
articles, but necessary articles, such as musical instruments.

The expense for these, however, has been uncommonly great
in the last year. Four new piano-fortes, in perfectly plain
cases, but of the best workmanship, have been received from
the makers, Messrs. Heaman & Sharland, and two more are
contracted for.

The new organ which is already in the house, (though at
this writing not entirely erected,) costs six thousand dollars
of which four thousand five hundred is to be cash, and the
balance in the two old organs.

This seems a great sum for a small organ ; but it is not so

1862.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 33. 5

when the peculiar structure and nice finish of the instrument
is considered.

It is a great object to have a model organ. It is very
desirable that our pupils should be trained to play upon an
instrument which embraces all the parts found in church
organs of divers kinds, so that to whatever instrument they are
afterwards led, they may find themselves at home with it.

Such an one has been completed by Messrs. Hook, and is
now in the process of erection in the institution, and will be
ready in a few days. It is a grand and beautiful instrument,
and promises to be a source of great benefit to the blind.

The payment for these instruments will fall mainly upon the
next year's account, and will be a heavy item.

The number of blind connected with the institution, as
reported last year, was one hundred and twenty. Since then
twenty-six have been received and twenty-seven discharged ; so
that the present number is one hundred and nineteen, all told.

The details respecting these will be found in the report of
the Director.

That report will embrace also a more minute account of
expenditures than can be given in the Treasurer's report.

All the accounts for current expenditures and the vouchers
are examined and audited monthly by a Committee of this
Board.

The approval and order of this committee are required by
the Treasurer for all moneys paid by him.

The inventories of personal and real estate, as required by
law, are herewith submitted.

Finally, the Trustees again commend the institution to the
confidence and the sympathy of the legislature and the public.

THEOPHILUS P. CHANDLER.
SAMUEL MAY.
WM. PERKINS.
BENJ. S. ROTCH.
WM. D. TICKNOR.
JOSIAH B. THAXTER, Jr.
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS.
JOSIAH QUINCY, Jr.
JOSEPH LYMAN.
THOMAS T. BOUVE.

ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

[Oct.

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1862.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 33.

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ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

[Oct.

Boston, November 19, 1862.

The undersigned, a Committee appointed to examine the accounts of the
Perkins' Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, for the year
1861-2, have attended to that duty, and hereby certify that they find the
payments properly vouched and correctly cast, and the balance to be six
thousand three hundred and thirty T4Jff dollars — $6,330.41.

The Treasurer also exhibited to us evidence of the following property
belon<nn£ to the Institution : —

16 shares Columbian Bank, ....
9 shares New England Bank, ....

30 shares Tremont Bank,

17 shares State Bank,

20 shares Boston and Providence Railroad,

30 shares Boston and Maine Railroad,

15 shares Boston and Worcester Railroad, .

85 shares Western Railroad, ....

25 shares Concord Railroad, ....

Deed of land in South Boston, dated June, 1840,

« " " March, 1847,

« " " Sept., 1845,

" " " January, 1850,

" « " July, 1850,

" " " May, 1855,

" " " August, 1855,

" " " April, 1855,

$1,600 00
900 00

3,000 00

1,020 00

1,642 50

2,942 00

1,155 00

8,218 75

1,250 00

§21,728 25

S755 68

5,000 00

5,500 00

1,762 50

1,020 25

3,710 00
450 00

1,311 50
19,509 93

§41,238 18

NATH'L H. EMMONS,
JOSEPH N. HOWE,

Committee.

1862.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 33.

General Abstract of the Account of the Work Department, Oct. 1, 1862.

Assets.

Stock on hand, $5,205 12

Cash on hand, 2,085 79

Debts due, 3,566 82

Balance of indebtedness, , 4,017 45

$14,875 18

Liabilities.
Due Institution, original capital and loan, . . . $4,256 96

2,000 00
2,000 00
3,000 00
2,500 00

$13,756 96
Due sundry individuals, . . . ■ . . . 1,118 22

$14,875 18

Balance of indebtedness October 1, 1861, $3,738 36

Balance of indebtedness October 1, 1862, 4,017 45

Loss this year, $279 09

Wages paid blind persons from Oct. 1, 1861, to Oct. 1, 1862, . $3,458 62
Sales from Oct. 1, 1861, to Oct. 1, 1862, $14,940 20

A correct copy.

M. R. EAYMOND, Book-keeper.

10 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

TERMS OF ADMISSION.

Young blind persons, of good moral character, can be admitted to the
School by paying $200 per annum. This sum covers all expenses,
except for clothing ; namely, board, washing, medicines, the use of books,
musical insti*uments, &c. The pupils must furnish their own clothing,
and pay their own fares to and from the institution. The friends of the
pupils can visit them whenever they choose.

Indigent blind persons, of suitable age and character, belonging to
Massachusetts, can be admitted gratuitously, by application to the
governor for a warrant.

The following is a good form, though any other will do :

" To his Excellency the Governor:

" Sir, — My son, (or daughter, or nephew, or niece, as the case may
be,) named A. B., and aged , cannot be instructed in the common schools
for want of sight. I am unable to pay for the tuition at the Perkins
Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, and I request that
your Excellency will grant a warrant for free admission.

" Very respectfully, ■ ."

The application may be made by any relation or friend, if the parents
are dead or absent.

It should be accompanied by a certificate from one or more of the
selectmen of the town, or aldermen of the city, in this form :

" I hereby certify that, in my opinion, Mr. is not a

wealthy person, and that he cannot afford to pay $200 per annum for
his child's instruction.

(Signed,) " ."

There should also be a certificate, signed by some regular physician,
in this form :

" I certify that, in my opinion, has not sufficient vision

to be taught in common schools ; and that he is free from epilepsy, and
from any contagious disease.

(Signed,) « ."

1862.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 33. 11

These papers should be clone up together, and directed to " The Secre-
tary of the Commonwealth, State House, Boston, Mass."

An obligation will be required from some responsible person, that the
pupil shall be removed without expense to the institution, whenever it
may be desirable to discharge him.

The usual period of tuition is from five to seven years.

Indigent blind persons residing in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Connecticut and Rhode Island, by applying as above to the " Commis-
sioners for the Blind," care of the Secretary of State in the respective
States, can obtain warrants of free admission.

For further particulars address Dr. S. G. Howe, Director of the
Institution for the Blind, Boston, Mass.

The relatives or friends of the blind who may be sent to the institution
are requested to furnish information in answer to the following questions:

1. What is the name of the applicant?

2. Where was she born ?

3. State the year, month and day of her birth.

4. Was she born blind ? If not, at what age was the sight impaired ?

5. Is the blindness total or partial?

6. What is the supposed cause of the blindness ?

7. Has she ever been subject to fits ?

8. Is she now in good health and free from eruptions and contagious
diseases of the skin ?

9. Has she ever been to school, if yes, where ?

10. What is the general moral character of the applicant ?

11. Is she gentle and docile in temper, or the contrary?

12. Has she any peculiarity of temper and disposition ?

13. Of what country was father of the applicant a native ?

14. What was the general bodily condition and health of the father,
was he vigorous and healthy, or the contrary ?

15. Was the father of the applicant ever subject to fits or scrofula ?
1G. Were all his senses perfect?

17. Was he always a temperate man?

18. About how old was he when the applicant was born ?

19. Was there any known peculiarity in the family of the father of
the applicant ; that is were any of the grand-parents, parents, uncles,
aunts, brothers, sisters or cousins blind, deaf or insane, or inflicted with
any infirmity of body or mind ?

20. If dead, at what age did he die, and of what disorder ?

21. Where was the mother of the applicant born ?

22. What was the general bodily condition of the mother of the
applicant, strong and healthy, or the contrary ?

12 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

23. Was she ever subject to scrofula or to fits ?

24. Were all her senses perfect ?

25. Was she always a temperate woman?

26. About how old was she when the applicant was born?

27. How many children had she before the applicant was born ?

28. Was she related by blood to her husband, if so in what degree,
1st, 2d, or 3d cousins ?

29. If dead, at what age did she die, and of what disorder ?

30. Was there any known peculiarity in her family, that is were any
of her grand-parents, parents, uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, children or
cousins, either blind, or deaf, or insane, or afflicted with any infirmity of
body or mind ?

31. What are the pecuniary means of the parents, or immediate
relatives of the applicant ?

32. How much can they afford to pay towards the support and
education of the applicant ?

1862.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 33.

OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION FOR 1862-3.

PRESIDENT.

SAMUEL MAY.

VICE-PRESIDENT.

STEPHEN FAIRBANKS

TREASURER.

WILLIAM CLAFLIN.

SECRETARY.

SAMUEL G. HOWE.

THOMAS T. BOUVE.
THEOPH. P. CHANDLER.
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS.
JOSEPH LYMAN.
JOSIAH QUINCY, Jr.
WILLIAM B. ROGERS.

TRUSTEES.

BENJAMIN S. ROTCH.
GEORGE R. RUSSELL.
JAMES STURGIS. •
JOSEPH B. THAXTER, Jr.
WILLIAM D. TICKNOR.

PUBLIC DOCUMENT No. 32.

THIRTY-SECOND ANNUAL REPORT

THE TRUSTEES

PERKINS' INSTITUTION

Passwjjiusetts &sgfam for % §Imfc

OCTOBER, 1863

BOSTON:
WEIGHT & POTTER, STATE PRINTER?
No. 4 Spring Lane.
18 64.

€ommonu)caltl) of iWassarijusetts.

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES.

Perkins' Institution, and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, )

Boston, October 5, 1863. )

To the Secretary of the Commonwealth :

The undersigned Trustees respectfully report as follows, for
the year ending September 30.

The institution has been conducted upon the same general
system, and by the same officers and teachers, as during the
last and many former years.

The Trustees have kept general supervision by their visiting
committees, and controlling expenditures by their auditors,
but confided the immediate management to the Director and
teachers.

The results show that the responsibilities and duties devolved
upon them have been faithfully met and discharged.

The expenditures have been larger than usual, owing partly
to increased cost of living, and partly to purchase of new
musical instruments.

Strict economy, however, has been used, and frugality has
been during this, as during former years, a marked feature of
the establishment.

The Director, Dr. Howe, having been appointed upon an
important commission by the United States government, ten-
dered his resignation last spring, but it was accepted only
conditionally, — the Trustees being unwilling to consent to his

4 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

entire separation from the institution, and they hope that he
may be able again to resume the entire charge of it. He relin-
quished his salary, however, and a temporary arrangement was
made with Mr. J. T. Sargent, who was to act as Director, it
being understood that Dr. Howe would visit the institution
whenever his other duties allowed him to do so, and to exercise
that general supervision of its affairs for which his long expe-
rience gives him uncommon advantage.

Mr. Sargent declining to remain longer than one quarter, Dr.
Edward Jarvis was appointed in his place, and is now acting as
temporary Superintendent. As he has been a Trustee in
former years, and once acted as Superintendent, he is well
acquainted with the duties of the office.

For an account of the finances, the Corporation is referred
to the accompanying Report of the Treasurer, Hon. William
Claflin.

The Report of the Director gives the details of the operations
of the several departments of the institution during the year.

The several inventories required by law are herewith pre-
sented for inspection.

All of which is respectfully submitted by

THOMAS T. BOUVE,
THEOPHILUS P. CHANDLER,
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS,
JOSEPH LYMAN,
JOSIAH QUINCY, Jr.,
WM. B. ROGERS,
BENJ. S. ROTCH,
GEORGE R. RUSSELL,
JAMES STURGIS,
JOSEPH B. THAXTER, Jr.,
WM. D. TICKNORj

Trustees.

1863.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 32.

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR.

Perkins' Institution, and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, )

Boston, October 1, 1863. j

To the Trustees :

Gentlemen, — Although the immediate duties of Director now
devolve upon Dr. Edward Jarvis, I will, at his request, discharge
the duty of making the usual Annual Report.

The year has been one of prosperity and happiness to the
blind who are under public care, not only in our own, but in
all the northern institutions.

Among the sad evils of the war is the breaking up of the
asylums of the south, and the scattering of their unfortunate
pupils. But none such have been felt here as yet. The usual
appropriations have been made to all the institutions, and
Massachusetts has even increased hers.

In our own institution the year has been passed peacefully
and happily.

The number of blind persons connected with the establish-
ment, September 30, 1862, was one hundred and fifteen. Since
then twenty-five have left, and twenty-seven have entered, and
the present number is one hundred and seventeen. Of these
eighty-four are in the juvenile department, or the school proper,
and are pupils under instruction.

They, with three women employed in domestic service, and
four adult teachers, comprise all the blind persons in the house-
hold proper.

Twenty eight adults, (twenty-four men and four women,)
are employed in the work department, and do not board in the
house. They take care of themselves, and are under no other
control or supervision than is exercised over workmen and
women in ordinary establishments.

6 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

The general health of all has been very good, as compared
with that of blind persons generally.

There has been no death among them, and very few cases of
disease.

The general course of instruction in the school, and in the
management of the household, have been the same as in former
years, and their results very satisfactory.

It is pleasant to testify to the zeal and fidelity with which the
matron, the teachers and domestics have continued to discharge
their several duties, and to minister to the wants and promote
the welfare of the pupils. To them it is owing, mainly, that in
spite of the infirmity which marks the household, it has been a
very happy one during the year.

MUSIC.

Great additional facilities for instruction in music have been
obtained since the last report. The new organ has been
thoroughly tried, and proved to be an excellent instrument.
It embraces all the parts found in church organs, so that the
pupils by intimate acquaintance with it, Tire prepared to play
upon any other.

It was built by Messrs. Hook, at a cost of about six thousand
dollars. I believe that those gentlemen have faithfully per-
formed their contract. They have furnished a beautiful instru-
ment, which will long stand as a monument of their skill, and
a source of great happiness and benefit to the blind.

Besides the great organ, seven new pianos have been pur-
chased during the year, viz., three square, one upright, two

pedalias, and one grand.

They were furnished by Messrs. Sharland & Heaman, and
seem to be very fine instruments. The whole number of pianos
now in use is twenty-six. This increase of the number of in-
struments was made necessary in order to carry out more effec-
tually than heretofore the plan of preparing the blind to tune
pianos as an occupation.

This has been done successfully, and several youths are now
earning a livelihood by tuning pianos. More will doubtless do
so ; and I confidently anticipate that they will establish such a
reputation as tuners, that people will employ them to keep
their finest instruments in order.

1863.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 32. 7

LAUNDRY.

The continued success of the workshop for adults, and the
gratifying results of the effort to place blind men upon the
same footing as ordinary workmen, without the disagreeable
necessity of living in an asylum, or home, has been most
gratifying.

The establishment, however, was mainly for men, and there
was great need of finding employment for women. Indeed, it
has always been more difficult for blind women to earn their
livelihood, than for men. Happy were those who found em-
ployment in simple household work ; but these were few.
Many excellent young women who have been taught in the
institution, are now sitting with folded hands and sad hearts,
longing for something to do.

To meet this want, which has long been felt, a laundry has
been organized, and has been in operation three months.

There are now five blind young women regularly employed,
and I trust that work will be provided for as many more as
need it.

The plan is the same as that so successfully carried out in
the men's work department. The women are to be paid accord-
ing to the amount and value of their work ; and they are to
provide their own board and pay all their own expenses. They
will need a little assistance at first, as our men did, but will be
able by and by to support themselves as the men are doing.

They come daily to the laundry and do their work, and live
as they please ; in short, they are situated precisely as ordinary
women working in a laundry would be ; and this is what the
blind want.

It should be borne in mind, for it is too often overlooked,
that blind persons, who have proper self-respect, shrink as much
from the thought of being supported by an asylum, under what-
ever name it is disguised, as those who see, shrink from the
thought of " coming upon the town." This feeling, so natural
and so honorable, should be encouraged, not repressed.

Whoever would aid the blind, should strive to make them as
far as possible associates and equals with those who see, and to
do nothing which points them out as differing from other
members of society.

8 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

We should bear in mind that all who have infirmities of any-
kind naturally wish to keep them out of mind.

The Steward's accounts, and the inventories of property, are
duly made out and ready for inspection.

All of which is respectfully submitted by

S. G. HOWE.

1863.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 32.

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ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

[Oct.

Boston, October 7, 1863.

The undersigned, a Committee appointed to examine the accounts of the
Perkins' Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, for the year
1862-3, have attended to that duty, and hereby certify that they find the
accounts to be properly vouched and correctly cast, and the balance to be
fifteen hundred and sixty-six Ty7 dollars — $1,566.97.

The Treasurer also exhibited to us evidence of the following property
belonging to this Institution : —

16 shares Columbian Bank,

. $1,600 00

9 shares New England Bank, .

900 00

17 shares State Bank, ....

. 1,020 00

30 shares Tremont Bank, .

. 3,000 00

20 shares Boston and Providence Railroad,

. 1.642 50

30 shares Boston and Maine Railroad,

. 2,942 00

15 shares Boston and Worcester Railroad,

. 1,155 00

85 shares Western Railroad,

. 8,218 75

25 shares Concord Railroad,

. 1,250 00

Deed of land in South Boston, dated June, 1840,

. $755 68

« « « " March, 1847,

. 5,000 00

" « " " Sept., 1845,

. 5,500 00

« " " " January, 1850,

. 1,762 50

« « " " July, 1850,

. 1,020 25

« « « " May, 1855,

. 3,710 00

« u u u August, 1855,

450 00

« « « " April, 1855,

. 1,311 50

19 509

$41,238

JOSEPH N. HOWE,
EDWARD JARVIS,

Committee.

1863.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 32. ' 11

General Abstract of the Account of the Work Department, Oct. 1, 1863.

Assets.

Stock on hand, $6,878 44

Cash on hand, 1 979 15

Debts due, 3,346 23

$12,203 82

Balance against the shop, 3 134 96

$15,388 78

Liabilities.
Due Institution, original capital and loan, . . . $4,256 96

2,000 00
2,000 00"
3,000 00
2,500 00

$13,756 96
Due sundry individuals, ...... 1,631 82

— . $15,388 78

Balance against the shop October 1, 1862, $4,017 45

Balance against the shop October 1, 1863, ..... 3,184 96

Gain this year, , $832 49

Amount of wages paid blind persons from Oct. 1, 1862, to Oct. 1,

1863, $3j366 31

Amount of sales from Oct. 1, 1862, to Oct. 1, 1863, . . $12,983 38

A correct copy,

M. R. RAYMOND, Book-keeper.

12 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

TERMS OF ADMISSION

Young blind persons, of good moral character, can be admitted to the
School by paying -$200 per annum. This sum covers all expenses, except
for clothing; namely, board, washing, medicines, the use of books, musical
instruments, &c. The pupils must furnish their own clothing, and pay their
own fares to and from the institution. The friends of the pupils can visit
them whenever they choose.

Indigent blind persons, of suitable age and character, belonging to Massa-
chusetts, can be admitted gratuitously, by application to the governor for a
warrant.

The following is a good form, though any other will do :

" To his Excellency the Governor :

" Sir, — My son, (or daughter, or nephew, or niece, as the case may be,)
named A. B., and aged , cannot be instructed in the common schools for
want of sight. I am unable to pay for the tuition at the Perkins' Institutioi
and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, and I request that your Excellency
will grant a warrant for free admission.

• " Very respectfully, ."

The application may be made by any relation or friend, if the parents are
dead or absent.

It should be accompanied by a certificate from one or more of the selectmen
of the town, or aldermen of the city, in this form :

" I hereby certify that, in my opinion, Mr. is not a wealthy

person, and that he cannot afford to pay $200 per annum for .his child's
instruction. (Signed,) " ."

There should also be a certificate, signed by some regular physician, in
this form :

" I certify that, in my opinion, has not sufficient vision to

be taught in common schools ; and that he is free from epilepsy, and from any

contagious disease.

(Signed,) " ."

These papers should be done up together, and directed to " The Secretary
of the Commonwealth, State House, Boston, Mass."

An obligation will be required from some responsible person, that the pupil
shall be removed without expense to the institution, whenever it may be
desirable to discharge him.

The usual period of tuition is from five to seven years.

Indigent blind persons residing in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Con-
necticut and Rhode Island, by applying as above to the " Commissioners for
the Blind, care of the Secretary of State in the respective States, can obtain
warrants of free admission.

1863.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 32. 13

I For further particulars address Dr. S. G. Howe, Director of the Institution
for the Blind, Boston, Mass.

The relatives or friends of the blind who may be sent to the institution are
requested to furnish information in answer to the following questions :

1. What is the name of the applicant ?

2. Where was she born ?

3. State the year, month and day of her birth.

4. Was she born blind ? If not, at what age was the sight impaired ?

5. Is the blindness total or partial ?

G. What is the supposed cause of the blindness ?

7. Has she ever been subject to fits ?

8. Is she now in good health and free from eruptions and contagious dis-
eases of the skin ?

9. Has she ever been to school, if yes, where?

10. What is the general moral character of the applicant ?

11. Is she gentle and docile in temper, or the contrary ?

12. Has she any peculiarity of temper and disposition ?

13. Of what country was father of the applicant a native ?

14. What was the general bodily condition and health of the father, was
he vigorous and healthy, or the contrary ?

15. Was the father of the applicant ever subject to fits or scrofula '?

16. Were all his senses perfect ?

17. Was he always a temperate man ?

IS. About how old was he when the applicant was born ?

19. Was there any known peculiarity in the family of the father of the
applicant ; that is, were any of the grand-parents, parents, uncles, aunts,
brothers, sisters or cousins blind, deaf or insane, or afflicted with any infirmity
of body or mind ?

20. If dead, at what age did he die, and of what disorder ?

21. Where was the mother of the applicant born ?

22. What was the general bodily condition of the mother of the applicant,
strong and healthy, or the contrary ?

23. Was she ever subject to scrofula or to fits ?

24. Were all her senses perfect ?

25. Was she always a temperate woman ?

2(3. About how old was she when the applicant was born ?

27. How many children had she before the applicant was born ?

28. Was she related by blood to her husband, if so in what degree, 1st, 2d,
or 3d cousins ?

29. If dead, at what age did she die, and of what disorder ?

30. Was there any known peculiarity in her family, that is, were any of
her grand-parents, parents, uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, children or cousins,
either blind, or deaf, or insane, or afflicted with any infirmity of body or mind ?

31. What are the pecuniary means of the parents, or immediate relatives
of the applicant ?

32. How much can they afford to pay towards the support and education
f the applicant ?

ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

[Oct. '36.

OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION FOR 1863-4.

PRESIDENT.

SAMUEL MAY.

VICE-PRESIDENT.

STEPHEN FAIRBANKS

TREASURER. .

WILLIAM CLAFLIN.

SECRETARY.

SAMUEL G. HOWE.

THOMAS T. BOUVE.
THEOPH. P. CHANDLER.
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS.
JOSEPH LYMAN.
JOSIAH QUINCY, Jr.
WILLIAM B. ROGERS.

TRUSTEES.

BENJAMIN S. ROTCH.
GEORGE R. RUSSELL.
JAMES STURGIS.
JOSEPH B. THAXTER, Jr.
WILLIAM D. TICKNOR.
JOHN II. STEPHENSON,

THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT

THE TRUSTEES

PERKINS5 INSTITUTION

Itesatjmsefte % sjrfom far % pnfe

OCTOBER, 1864.

BOSTON :

WRIGHT & POTTER, STATE PRINTERS,

No. 4 SPRING LANE.

18 6 4.

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES.

Perkins' Institution, and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind,}

Boston, October 5, 1864. j

To the Members of the Corporation, and to the Legislature of
Massachusetts :

The undersigned Trustees, appointed by the Corporation,
and by the Governor and Board of Visitors in behalf of the
State, respectfully report, as follows, for the year closing
September 30th, 1864.

The year has been one of peaceful prosperity, and nothing
has occurred to interrupt the usual course of instruction and
employment.

The several documents herewith submitted will furnish all
the information respecting the institution, which is required by
law and custom.

The Director's report shows that the number of blind persons
received and discharged has been rather larger than usual.

The average number of blind children, who are likely to be
sent to the institution, for instruction from the New England
States, for some years to come, will not, probably, exceed one
hundred. Our institution can easily accommodate so many,
and a much larger number is not desirable in one establish-
ment.

The number of adults who are furnished with employment,
will probably increase, especially if the laundry for the employ-
ment of blind women, which has been established as an experi-
ment, should succeed according to present expectations.

The Trustees ask especial attention to this subject, which is
fully set forth in the Director's report.

4 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

It is not desirable to encourage those who finish their educa-
tion at the institution, to remain in the neighborhood ; much
less to induce blind persons to leave the country and congregate
in the city. On the contrary, it has ever been the policy of the
institution to encourage its graduates to find homes in the
places where they belong, so that the blind may be dispersed in
the community and not form a class apart.

The establishment of a work department for adults, was
rather a matter of necessity than of choice. It would have been
easy, by an appeal to public charity, to endow that establish-
ment so largely that it could do a great deal in the way of
charity, and make the labor of the inmates so light and
their comfort so great, that the 'blind would have flocked to it,
and been numbered by hundreds. The opposite course, however,
has been followed, so that those only resort to it who cannot
well find employment elsewhere ; and they are required to work
as industriously as ordinary workmen do, and are paid what they
really earn.

The same reasons which called for the establishment of a work
department for blind men, now call for a similar one for women.
Every year a certain number of young women leave the insti-
tution, well-educated in the common branches of school learning,
and well-trained in industrious habits. Most of them find
comfortable homes among their relatives, and are able to render
themselves useful and agreeable members of ordinary house-
holds. A few teach music, and gain a livelihood thereby. But
here and there is one who needs special aid. The number of
these has so increased that an organized effort is needed to help
them to help themselves. The experiment of a laundry
promises well thus far. It has necessarily been expensive, and
will continue to be so yet longer ; but the cost may safely be
considered as an investment, which will yield a large income of
beneficence in future years.

Interesting statements are made by the Director, concerning
the success of pupils who have left the institution, and are
earning a good livelihood by teaching music and tuning pianos.

Others are working at their trades in the country, and their
work is made more profitable by the facilities which are given
them in the way of business by our sales-room.

THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT. 5

The policy of the institution is to encourage the blind in every
way, to rely upon their own efforts ; to live by their own indus-
try, and never to receive alms.

True friendship for the blind is not shown by yielding to
emotions of pity, and removing from their path obstacles which
they themselves can by care and toil overcome, for in the end
they would be stronger and happier for the effort to do so. But it
is both wise and humane, by organized effort, to give the blind
such encouragement to industry, and such facilities for work,
as will counterbalance the real and heavy disadvantages arising
from their infirmity, to the extent that they shall be on a level
with ordinary workmen. So far, no farther. Help to industry,
but no encouragement to idleness.

By such organized effort, the State and benevolent individuals
have built up this institution, and they are relied upon to sus-
tain it so long as it merits confidence, and shows good return
for the investment.

Such efforts are, however, necessarily costly, and the report
of the Treasurer will show that during the past year the
expenses have exceeded the income.

This arises from two causes : first, the increased cost of
carrying on the establishment, the reasons for which must be
apparent to all ; second, the enlargement and improvement of
the premises.

These improvements have been long called for, and the call
lias been resisted, partly because the productive fund was so
small, and partly because there was doubt about retaining the
institution permanently in its present location.

The first objection has been overruled by the hope that
" patient continuance in well doing " would secure for the
institution the continued patronage-of the State ; and would,
moreover, be rewarded by the sympathy and substantial
assistance of good men.

TUe Trustees, therefore, did not hesitate any longer about
reducing the small capital of the institution by making the
needed improvements. These are enumerated and described
in the report of the Director.

As to the second objection, it has been overcome by the con-
clusion which has been formed by most of the Trustees, that, upon

6 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

the whole, the present location of the establishment can be
advantageously retained for some years to come.

The pecuniary means of the institution are so limited,
and the cost of carrying on its necessary operations so much
increased, that some works of great interest, but not of imme-
diate and pressing need, have been interrupted. Printing
books in raised letters has been suspended for two years.
This was a very useful work, and a source of great pleasure
and improvement, not only to our pupils, but to all the insti-
tutions for the education of the blind in the country. They
were mainly supplied with our books ; and there was an increas-
ing call for them in England. The cost of the printing office,
however, was considerable, because, although the books were
sought for, the cash sales were very limited, the blind being gen-
erally too poor to pay money ; and therefore the work was sus-
pended. It is to be hoped that the hearts of those who have the
power of doing good may be moved to furnish the means of resum-
ing it. This form of charity is not only manifestly a good one,
but it presents features which render it peculiarly attractive to
some minds. The seed silently planted will bear fruit through
many seasons ; increasing, perhaps, with the lapse of time. He
who causes a book to be printed for the blind, may convey his gift
of knowledge in such form as best suits his taste. This has
sometimes been done very happily. Perhaps the name of Peter
C. Brooks will be read by the fingers of the blind, upon the
title-page of Pierce's Geometry, after the inscription upon his
tombstone has become illegible to the eye.

The policy of the institution has been liberality in all matters
which touch the real and permanent interests of the blind, but
economy, even to parsimony, in everything else. During more
than thirty years, not a repast has been served for the Trustees,
nor a penny spent for their carriage-hire. Their services are
strictly gratuitous.

While large outlays have been made for improvement o£ the
grounds and buildings, and thousands of dollars annually
expended upon books, apparatus, musical instruments and the
like, the utmost frugality has pervaded the household. A large
corps of teachers has been maintained ; but the domestic service
has been upon the most economical scale, and the fare of the
simplest and cheapest kind, consistent with health.

THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT. 7

The report of the Treasurer will show the general condition
of the finances ; and that of the Director will exhibit the details
of expenditure.

The several inventories required by law are herewith sub-
mitted.

The Trustees close their Report by commending the interests
of the institution to the corporation and to the legislature, in
the hope and belief that whatever additional aid may be needed,
will be cheerfully and promptly granted.

Adopted by vote of the Board; October 5, 1864.

THOS. T. BOUVE",
THEOP. P. CHANDLER,
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS,*
JOSEPH LYMAN,
JOSIAH QUINCY, Jr.,
WM. B. ROGERS,
BENJ. S. ROTCH,*
GEORGE R. RUSSELL,
JAMES STURGIS,
JOSEPH B. THAXTER, Jr.,*
JOHN H. STEPHENSON,

Trustees.
Sam'l G. Howe, Secretary.

* Trustees appointed by the Governor.

t One vacancy, occasioned by the lamented death of Wm. D. Ticknok.

MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION,

18 6 4-5.

PRESIDENT.

SAMUEL MAY.

VICE-PRESIDENT.

STEPHEN FAIRBANKS.

TREASURER.

WILLIAM CLAFLIN.

SECRETARY.

SAMUEL G. HOWE.

TRUSTEES.

THOMAS T. BOUVE.
THEOPH. P. CHANDLER.
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS.
JOSEPH LYMAN.
JOSIAH QUINCY.

WILLIAM B. ROGERS.
BENJAMIN S. ROTCII.
GEORGE R. RUSSELL.
JAMES STURGIS.
JOSEPH B. THAXTER, Jr.*

* Two vacancies to be filled by the governor.

THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT.

EXTRACTS FROM THE REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR
TO THE TRUSTEES.

The number of pupils reported, September 30th, 1863, was
one hundred and nineteen ; admitted during the year, twenty-
three ; discharged during the year, twenty-five ; present number,
one hundred and seventeen.

This is made up of eighty-one in the junior department, or
the SGhool proper ; three teachers ; two in domestic service ;
twenty-three adult men and women in the workshop, and eight
women in the laundry.

Of these, thirty-six are on pay; and the aggregate amount
earned and received by them in cash, during the year is $5,726.02.

Besides these there are several blind men who learned their
trade here, and who are supplied with tools and stock, from
our workshop, and work at home, in the country. They either
sell their goods in their own neighborhood, or send them to us
to be sold on their account.

The monthly reports which have been made have kept you
informed of the current events. None of them are important
enough to need special mention here.

The general health of the inmates has been maintained at its
usual average. Among the pupils proper, there have been but
few cases of sickness, and none of death. The nursery has been
occupied but little.

Several of the pupils have been under treatment by oculists,
with a view to the restoration or improvement of their vision.
A hope, and almost an expectation, has been excited in some of
them that they should be cured ; but those hopes and expecta-
tions have not been realized.

This is no new thing. There is a frequently occurring, and
almost periodical excitement upon this subject ; — a sort of
revival of buried hope which cannot be reasoned with, and which

10 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

it seems almost cruel to repress. This sort of revival is occa-
sioned sometimes by reports, (whether well or ill founded,) of
a blind person being restored to sight ; sometimes by a young
and sanguine oculist who honestly believes that he can restore
or at least improve vision in cases where others have failed ;
but occasionally by a dishonest pretender, who wishes to get
notoriety, which to him is capital, by practising upon the blind.
He has nothing to lose, and hopes he may make a lucky
hit, careless of what harm he may do, or what painful disap-
pointment he may occasion. While one patient is under treat-
ment, and is encouraged by false hopes, others conceive them
also, and there follows a feverish excitement upon the subject.

There have been many such revivals in our institution ; during
all of which the hopes of one or two have at first run high, and
soon been shared by many others, until there followed a general
excitement on the subject. It is sometimes painful to see those
come forward in whom there is evidently no possibility of sight,
and who, having become resigned and even happy in their dark-
ness, are again excited and disturbed by false hopes. It is
painful too to record that hitherto all these periods of excite-
ment and hope have been followed by disappointment. Some
few have seemed to be improved for awhile, but out of many
hundred cases, only two are remembered in which any consider-
able benefit was received, and in only one of those has it
been permanent.

The rule of our school is to receive those only who are con-
sidered as incurably blind. If among the applicants there are
any whose blindness seems curable, or which even presents a
feeble chance of being improved, they have the advice of our
best oculists. If any treatment is deemed desirable, it is to be
made before the applicant is admitted to the school. This rule
ought to be adhered to more strictly than it has been hitherto.

Recovery of sight, or even improvement of what little vision
a person may have, is a matter so highly desirable to all parties,
and it is of such vital importance to the sufferer, that no pains
or expense should be spared to bring it about. But, during the
treatment, the patient cau seldom be a fit subject for a school.
Even if the treatment did not prevent observance of the studies
and the discipline, the moral condition of the patient would do
it. The issue is of vast moment to him. It involves hopes so

THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT. 11

exciting, — fears so depressing,— doubts so tormenting, that
there is no room for anything else. If he ever saw, or if he even
perceives a faint glimmer of light, he anticipates more exquisite
pleasure from sight than those who securely possess it ever real-
ize ; and he fears that its total loss will bring more lasting
suffering and sorrow, than the blind themselves experience.

Among the adults connected with the institution, there has
been during the year, more sickness than among the pupils ;
and two cases have been fatal. There is always a higher rate
of sickness and mortality in this class than in the junior depart-
ment, for reasons set forth in our twenty-eighth report.

The school proper, in the juvenile department, has been
attended during the year by about eighty pupils. Their general
conduct has been very satisfactory. They are docile and
industrious, and no severity of discipline is required in their
government. The school has been conducted with marked
ability and success, by the same young ladies who have given us
proof, in years past, of their skill and fidelity as teachers.

The general course of instruction has been the same as in
former years. The object is to give to all the pupils the same
kind and degree of instruction in the common English branches,
as is given in our best common schools ; and this object has been
attained in as great a degree as could be expected. A few
pupils pursue successfully the branches taught in our High
Schools.

boys' workshop.
Besides a knowledge of the English branches, our course of
instruction includes daily exercise and training in simple and
easy manual work. This gives physical exercise, increases
dexterity and self-reliance, and prepares the pupils for whatever
trade or calling they may afterwards follow. Even those who
aspire to become teachers, and those who will never be obliged
to work for a living, are benefited by this kind of training. As
a laundress or a broom-maker is better fitted to follow suc-
cessfully a mechanical calling, by having had mental culture in
youth, so a teacher is better for possessing that bodily culture
and dexterity, which training in some manual art gives so effec-
tually. It is good for every one, but especially for the blind,

12 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

for it improves their gait and carriage, and lessens that awk-
wardness of appearance which those who are untrained almost
always present.

It is in view of the importance of this, and of early habits of
self-reliance, that we require our pupils to do everything for
themselves that they can do. Even the boys make their own
beds and take care of their own rooms. They learn to run and
jump and wrestle and bowl. The gymnasium is considered to
be an important adjunct to the school-room ; and the rapid
wear and tear of solid bowling-alleys, and of hard wood appa-
ratus, gives proof of the vigor and force of their operations.
They are kept out of doors as much as possible. In the summer
they bathe in the sea, and many of them can swim, and can row a
boat.

The girls are employed daily in household duties, and are
taught to sew, to knit, and to do various kinds of fancy work.

This kind of training, though not so agreeable to them, or so
much prized by their friends, is nevertheless of service to all ;
and to many is more useful in the end than listening to poetry,
or practising on the piano.

The boys spend two or three hours every afternoon in a work-
shop, where they learn simple trades. They make brooms, seat
chairs, and braid mats. The work is under the management
of a former pupil, who has a small salary, ($150,) and makes
what he can out of the business. He purchases the stock, and
sells the goods, or they are sold on his account, at our store.
This arrangement has many advantages over any other which
we have tried. It secures vigilant attention to business;
economy of stock and of time, and prevents slovenly work,
which is always unprofitable work. It trains at least one person
to close business habits ; and his example helps others. If there
is any profit, it cannot be better disposed of than to one of that
class whose prosperity it is our business to promote.

Almost all the pupils devote some time each day to the study
and practice of music. This is in pursuance of our uniform
policy which requires that the pupils should receive instruction
and training in vocal and instrumental music, with a view to
general culture, and to that familiarity with the art, which is
so desirable for all youth, but especially for the blind.

THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT. 13

A few of the most advanced pupils, who show special talent
for music, with such general mental ability as is essential for
excellence in any art, devote as much time to the study as can
be done advantageously. They receive careful instruction, and
have excellent instruments for daily practise.

The liberal expenditures which have been made within a few
years for musical instruments, give us very great advantages,
such as were not formerly enjoyed, and which can hardly be
found elsewhere. There is a beautiful organ, built at great
cost, and with great care, and which is so constructed as to
give a great variety of practice. It is an instrument which
ranks amongst the first in the country.

There are twenty-six piano-fortes, all in excellent condition,
and so arranged in commodious rooms that both teacher and
pupils can work advantageously.

Besides these advantages, our students of music have oppor-
tunities of hearing the best masters and the best music which
the city can furnish. The professional musicians of Boston,
and the musical societies, show great liberality and kindness
in this matter ; and they deserve our thanks, as well as the
gratitude of the blind.

The object in giving special instruction and training to a
few pupils is, that they may become good musicians, good
teachers, and good tuners of pianos.

Care is taken, however, to avoid the common error of mis-
taking great sensibility to musical sounds, and marvellous
powers of imitation, for real talent. The blind musical prodi-
gies, of whom the country has seen so many, prove for the
most part, to be prodigious failures. The most marvellous
instance of all is that of Tom, the blind slave boy, whose per-
formances created such a sensation in this country three or four
years ago. After making all allowance for exaggeration, it
must be admitted that his case proves that delicate sensibility
to harmonious relations of sound, and marvellous power of
memory and of imitation, may exist in one who is in other
respects hardly above an idiot. The case of this blind and
imbecile boy is so interesting, and in some respects so instruc-
tive, that an account of it should be preserved. A careful
and minute account of it by a competent observer, would be a
valuable contribution to science.

14 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

The lack of sufficient care in the selection of pupils
to be trained for musicians, and other causes, (which it is
hardly time yet to set forth,) have contributed to what we
must acknowledge to be a failure of the hopes and expectations
raised among the blind, and in the public mind, by former
reports of this and other institutions.

The graduates who have gone forth as musicians, teachers,
and tuners, have not, as a general thing, done so well as it was
predicted they would do. We now see many reasons for the dis-
appointment, and we may set them forth in due season ; but, in
the meantime, we shall try to profit by them ; and, as out of
the nettle, danger, is plucked the flower, safety, so out of
failure try to pluck success.

A comparative degree of success has been obtained during
the past year as the result of more careful selection of pupils,
more thorough drill, and longer persistence in work than was
formerly required.

The following extracts of letters from graduates who have
recently left will show in their own language the degree of
success they are now obtaining :

" It is now two years since I left the institution, and I am happy to
say that during that time I have been able to support myself almost
wholly by my own exertions. I commenced teaching music in this city,
(Boston,) and although it is crowded with superior musicians and
teachers, yet I have had a moderate share of patronage. The greatest
number of pupils that I have had at any one time, was fourteen ; the
smallest number, two ; the average about ten.

" Most of them have taken more than one quarter, and several have
continued their lessons more than a year. I have tuned the pianos of
all my pupils, and as many more as I could find. I have usually had
one a week, and often two or three. Alonzo Carter."

" I have tuned twenty-two pianos, and I now have twelve scholars
under instruction, and another that will commence soon.

"Aaron Blakeslee, New Haven"

Graduated March, 1864.

" I have a situation as organist, in the Episcopal Church, with a salary
of $G0 a year. I had eight scholars the first quarter. They commenced
to take lessons at different periods.

THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT. 15

" I have received $92. The prospect is that I shall have more
scholars. Jeannette Andrews, Salem, Mass."

Graduated March, 1864.

" I commenced teaching April 4th. The first quarter I earned and
had paid in, $65, but had two scholars who were taking lessons once a
week, for which I had not then received anything. I have now seven
scholars, at $15 per quarter; three of the number taking but one lesson
a week. Ltdia Ajies, Maiden, Mass."

Graduated March, 1864.

" I commenced teaching here in April last, with a class of six, which
has increased to ten. I shall probably retain this number until
December, and hope in the meantime to add thereto.

" I have been able to defray all my expenses, which have been large,
with a small surplus. Thomas Roche, Lynn, Mass"

Graduated March, 1864.

"I left the institution hardly knowing what to do, but wishing to
take up the first thing that promised the most money. Tuning being a
new business for the blind, that is in Boston, I was doubtful how I
might succeed with it. Very few of the piano makers were willing to
own that a blind man could tune a piano. Beginning under those cir-
cumstances, I could but be slow. From that time till the first of
January, 1864, I earned from $175 to $200. Since then I have
earned from $350 to $375, and have every prospect of as much for the
next four months. Joseph Wood."

" Immediately on graduating, I came to Bangor with the view of
teaching piano or organ music, or to engage in the tuning of pianos. I
chose piano teaching, and my friends obtained about a dozen scholars
for me to commence with, four of whom lived in Old Town, twelve
miles from the city, which place I visited semi-weekly.

" At first I did some tuning, but the number of my scholars soon
increased so that I was obliged to give up that branch of the business.

"The average number of my scholars during the year was sixteen,
and the number of lessons per week about twenty. My terms are sixteen
dollars per quarter, which is the most that any teacher of music has in
this city.

" I go to the houses of my scholars to give them their lessons, without
a guide except the first time, and I find no difficulty in travelling to any
part of the city.

" At this time I have twenty-five scholars, which are as many as I can
do justice to, and I have been obliged to refuse several applicants of
late.

16 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

" My scholars are of the first families in the city, and a large number
of them are quite advanced in piano playing; some of them bein°-
teachers. Thomas Reeves."

Graduated March, 1863.

The musical department has been under the charge of Mr.
F. J. Campbell for about seven years ; and it is owing to his
skill, and to his zeal that such satisfactory progress has been
made. He has inspired his pupils with an ambition for real
excellence ; and has convinced them that it cannot be attained
by haste.

THE WORK DEPARTMENT FOR ADULTS

Has been conducted on the system which was adopted about
fifteen years ago, and it continues to be prosperous and successful.

The whole number of men and women employed during the
year was 27.

The amount of earnings paid to them in cash was $3,560.02.

The amount of receipts at the sales-room was $18,604.65. A
large proportion of this was for work, such as making over old
mattresses, bottoming chairs, making and repairing mats.
The balance sheet shows a small profit. No allowance, how-
ever, is made for interest on the capital, $13,756.96, originally
invested in the shop, from the general fund of the institution.

The successful establishment of this department is very
gratifying, because it proves that with a little indirect aid in the
disposal of their wares, adult blind men and women may earn
their livelihood, and yet not be gathered in an asylum, not
subjected to any restraint, and not considered as objects of
oharity ; but may live just as they desire to do. It proves also
that they desire to live in families, as other people live, and not
in asylums, however named.

For. reasons set forth in former reports, it is not desirable
that the number of those immediately connected with this
department should be greatly increased. But beside those so
connected, there are several blind men who have been supplied
with tools and stock, and who work at home in the country, either
disposing of their goods in the neighborhood, or sending them
to our store for sale on their account. This is the best
arrangement upon the whole, that can be made for adult blind
persons ; and it is very desirable that it should be extended to

THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT. IT

as many as possible. It lias various advantages. It keeps up the
ties of family and neighborhood. It establishes and strengthens
social and civic relations between the blind and others. It
keeps them distributed equally in the community. It relieves
the cities from undue numbers of infirm people. It prevents
the growth of that spirit of caste which is apt to be engendered
where the blind congregate together. Finally, it accords with
the idea which has guided our efforts, that the education of
the blind should fit them for intercourse with those who see ;
and it reduces to its minimum the difference between them.

The history of this department shows that it may fairly be
regarded as a success, financially.

The institution appropriated, at various times, $13,756.96,
as capital to carry on the business. The last appropriation was
$2,500, in 1855. Besides the debt to the institution for this
capital, the department owes to sundry individuals for goods,
$1,412.80, or in all $15,169.76. But it has stock on hand
which is fairly valued at $7,471.03. It has cash on hand,
$1,865.66. It has debts due to it, $4,674.22 ; total, $13,986.11.
Assuming that we lose all the doubtful debts, and twenty per
cent, of the good ones, the balance against the shop will be
about $3,000.

This balance has been growing less during several years, and
if it continues to do so a few years longer, will be cancelled, and
the institution will get back all its capital. The only loss
will be of the interest, and the difference between the cost of the
building and its actual worth. But should the business be
closed up now, the loss could not exceed $5,000, and would
probably not much exceed $3,000.

In the meantime the department has paid out in cash, to
blind men and women, the sum of $59,185.24.

But if we reckon more strictly, and take only the time from
1850, when the workmen and women left the institution and
provided board for themselves, and if we make allowance for
the clerk hire, which was at first paid from the general fund,
we shall find that the work department has paid to blind men
and women, in cash, the sum of $54,521.14. This surely is a
good return for the loss of interest on $13,986.11, and of part
of the principal.

18 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOE THE BLIND.

THE LAUNDRY.

Mention was made in the last report of the experimental
laundry for the employment of blind women, upon the same
system as that adopted in the men's work department.

This has gone on successfully during the year, and .eight
women have been employed. They have earned wages barely
enough to pay their board and scanty personal expenses.

Besides doing all the washing for the institution, and for the
School for Idiots, they have taken in washing from* many
private families, and their work has given satisfaction.

The experiment may be considered a success ; and since, by
a vote of your Board the laundry has been adopted as a branch
of the work department, it will be so conducted, and a separate
exhibit made of its expenditures and income.

The receipts have not equalled the expenses as yet; but
there is a nearer approach to it every month.

It is desirable that a fund of a few thousand dollars should
be set apart to constitute a working capital, as in the case of
the men's work department.

FINANCES.

The Treasurer's Report shows that the total receipts during the

year were, $32,896 19

Deduct cash on hand at the beginning of the year, 1,566 77

Net receipts,. $31,329 42

Ordinary Receipts.
From State of Massachusetts, . . $16,000 00
beneficiaries of other States, and

private pupils, . . . 4,127 97
dividends on stocks, . ... 1,762 70

$21,890 67

Extraordinary Receipts.
Prom sales of stocks, .... $6,438 75
State of Massachusetts, balance

of last year's appropriation, . 1,000 00
legacy of Susan Hurd, . . 2,000 00

9,438 75

Total, , $31,329 42

THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT. 19

He paid out on orders of the Auditor, . . . $31,742 37
And had a cash balance on hand, ... 1 153 82

Total actual payments, .... $30,588 55

The Steward's account shows that the ordinary expenses for
the year, excluding laundry expenses and including bills due
October 1, 1864, were, as per schedule annexed, $24,282 70

Extraordinary expenses for construction, &c, . 5,789 30

Total,

$30,072 00

This gives an apparent excess of income over the expenditures,
bitf in reality there was an excess of ordinary expenses over
ordinary income, amounting to, $2,392.03.

The excess of ordinary expenditures is not in reality quite so
great, because payment from the States of New Hampshire,
Vermont and Connecticut, which should have been made
during the year, was delayed.

In making estimates for the current year, we must consider
that there will be repairs necessary, and that the number of
pupils will be greater ; and we must assume that the cost of
all articles of consumption will be at least as high as during
the past year.

Our ordinary expenses will then be about $25,000.

The ordinary income will be, —

Appropriation from State of Massachusetts, . . $16,000 00

Dividends on investments, .... l'oOO 00

Income from beneficiaries and private pupils, about, 7,'oOO 00

$24,000 00

Thus there will be a deficit, which should be provided for in
some way. Three methods suggest themselves.

1. To ask for an additional appropriation from the State of
Massachusetts.

2. To charge higher rates for beneficiaries from other States.

3. To ask authority from the legislature to require a small
payment from the parents or friends of our own State bene-
ficiaries.

20 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

The first seems undesirable while the number of beneficiaries
remains as small as it now is.

The second method, or that of raising the charge for beneficia-
ries from other States, would be attended with some difficulty, for
it would require the action of the several legislatures. Whenever
this matter is broached we meet with objections, arising from
the fact that beneficiaries are received at the School for Deaf
Mutes, in Connecticut, at a very low rate, much less than actual
cost; while another fact is not generally known, namely, that
that institution has a large fund, given by the United States
Government for the benefit of that class. Still, doubtless,
something might be gained in that way.

The third method, or that of requiring a small payment from
the parents of State beneficiaries, would seem to be not only
just, but, in some respects, advantageous to all parties. We
have always opposed whatever measures tend to make people
consider blind children as belonging to the class of paupers.
We have advocated the doctrine that they have the same right to
instruction at the hands of the public as other children have,
and that instruction should be special and adapted to their
condition. The public places its common school within the
reach of every ordinary child ; but it cannot place a special
school within the reach of each blind child, and therefore com-
promises by building up one central school and maintaining the
children there. Any indigent person having a blind child, may
send it to the State institution, without feeling that in the
matter of schooling he is any more a recipient of public charity
than are his neighbors, who send children to the common
school. It ought not to cost him any more to send his child to
school than it costs his neighbors to send theirs ; but, on the
other hand, if he has means, it ought not to cost him any less.
By the present arrangement it does cost him less, because he
has not to pay his child's board. Would there be any unfair-
ness, then, in requiring him to pay what it would actually cost
him to board his child at home — say $50 a year. Or if the
parent were really unable to pay this sum, would there be any
injustice in requiring payment of the town in which the child
properly belongs ?

THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT. 21

There would be some advantages in the arrangement ; among
others that of making the benefit which the child receives more
highly prized by all parties.

It is probable that in the case of at least forty of our State
beneficaries $50 a year might be paid by the parent without
embarrassment.

The inventories of property, real and personal, with full
details, are submitted herewith.

The Steward's accounts have been duly audited each month,
by the Auditors, Messrs. Fairbanks and Thaxter.

Respectfully submitted by

SAM'L G. HOWE.

MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

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THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT.

Boston, October 5, 1864.

The undersigned, a committee appointed to examine the accounts of the
Perkins' Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, for the year
1863-4, have attended to that duty and hereby certify that they find the
accounts to be properly vouched and correctly cast and cash balance to be
one thousand fifty-three dollars eighty-two cents. The Treasurer also exhibited
to us evidence of the following property belonging to the institution :

16 shares Columbian Bank, .

. $1,600 00

" New England Bank

• • • •

900 00

" State Bank, .

. 1,020 00

" Tremont Bank,

. 3,000 00

" Boston and Providence Railroad, .

. 1,642 50

" Boston and Maine Railroad, .

. 2,942 00

" Western Railroad,

. 5,801 46

" Concord Railroad,
1 of land in South Boston

June, 1860, .

. 1,250 00

Dee

. $755 68

a (( a

March, 1847,

. 5,000 00

u M ((

September, 1845, .

. 5,500 00

a (( U

Januarjr, 1850,

. 1,762 50

a (( u

•

July, 1850, .

. 1,020 25

a a a

May, 1855, .

. 3,710 00

u u u

August, 1855,

450 00

u a ((

April, 1855, .

. 1,311 50

Signed by

,155 96

19,509 93

$37,665 89

JOSIAH QUINCY,
FRED. W. G. MAY,

Committee.

MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

[No. 2.]
Statement of Receipts by Steward paid to Treasurer.

1863.
Aug. 8.
8.
1.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

22.

1864.

Feb. 11.

Mar. 7.

7.
24.
24.
27.

Aug.

5.
5.
5.
5.
5.
5.
5.

Aug. 26.
26.

26.

Sept. 6.

Am't rec'd, sale of books, writing boards, &c.
" " sale of admission tickets,
" " Horace Thomas, account of board

&c, of son,
" " sale of books, type, &c,
" " sale of old iron, .
" " A. H. Robinson, account of board

of daughter,
" " laundry work to date, .
" " sale of books,
" " sale of books to Ohio Institution
" " sale of books to Philad'a

" " sale of flour barrels and grease, .
" " A. H. Robinson, account of board

of daughter,
" " sale of bread, sundries,
" " sale of bread to Idiot School,
" " sale of books, &c,
" " Horace Thomas.acc't of son's board
" " sale of books,
" « jj. F. Duren, account of clothing

bills paid for Freddie Crocker, .

Am't rec'd, sale of books'to Penn. Institute,

" " sale of books to sundry individuals

" " Mr. Trafton, for board of daughter

" " Mr. Harris, for board of son,

" " on account of Sarah Redcliffe,

" " Idiot School, account of laundry

" " sundry individuals " "

Am't rec'd for board of blind woman at 1'ndry,
" " interest on legacy of Mrs. Loring,

for Laura Bridgman,
" " cash for work at laundry,
" " for b'd of blind women at laundry,
" " cash for work at laundry,
" " sale of old iron, barrels, &c,

Total,

., $5

. 12

. 50

. 31

lit

. 50

. 24

i, 65

2S 00

8 50

50 00
82 20

881 22
24 50

100 00
1 50

29 30'

. $35 50

, 35

, 50

. 50

. 100

. 500

. 85

55 60

L,448 22

$855 50

50 00

209 50

35 00

47 00

6 06

$383 16

$2,686 88

THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT. 25

[No. 3.]
General Abstract of the Accounts of the Work Department.

October 1, 1863, the Department owed —
To the institution for loan for original capital, $13,756 96
To sundry individuals, 1,631 82

The assets were — Stock on hand, . . . $6,878 44
Cash on hand, . . . 1,979 15
Debts due, . . . 3,346 23

$15,388 78

12,203 82

Balance against the Dep't Oct. 1, '63, . . . $3,184 96

The amount of wages paid in cash to blind workmen dur-
ing the year Oct. 1, 1862, to Oct. 1, 1863, . . . $3,366 31
The amount of sales, was, 12,983 38

October 1, 1864, the liabilities of the Department were —
Debt due to institution for original loan, . . $13,756 96
Debt to sundry individuals, .... 1,412 80

The assets were — Stock on hand, . . . $7,471 03
Cash on hand, . . . 1,865 66
Good debts due, . . 2,674 22*

$15,169 76

12,010 91

Balance against Department, $3,158 85

Net gain this year, $26 11

The amount of wages paid in cash to blind persons was $3,560 02

which is $213.79 gain over last year.
The amount of sales was $18,604 65

which is a gain of $5,621.27 over last year.

The undersigned, Auditors of Accounts, have examined the cash account and
vouchers of the shop of the institution, from September 30th, 1863, to October,
1864, and find them correctly cast and properly vouched, and the balance on
hand to be $1,865.66.

STEPHEN FAIRBANKS, ) itMnmm
J. B. THAXTER, \ Auditors.

* The charges on the books amount to $4,674.22, but by carrying every doubtful debt to profit
and loss account, it is reduced to $2,674.22, and made quite reliable.

MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

[No. 4.]

List of Books 'printed at the Perkins' Institution and Massachusetts
Asylum for the Blind.

No. of Vols.

Lardner's Universal History, 3

Howe's Geography, .........

Howe's Atlas of the Islands, ........

English Reader, First Part, ........

English Reader, Second Part, ......

The Harvey Boys, .........

The Pilgrim's Progress, . ......

Baxter's Call, ..........

English Grammar, .........

Life of Melancthon, .........

Constitution of the United States, .......

Book of Diagrams, .........

Viri Roma3, ..........

Pierce's Geometry, with Diagrams, ......

Political Class-Book,

First Table of Logarithms, ........

Second Table of Logarithms, .......

Principles of Arithmetic, ........

Astronomical Dictionary, ........

Philosophy of Natural History, .......

Rudiments of Natural Philosophy,

Cyclopaedia, ........... 8

Book of Common Prayer,

Guide to Devotion, .........

New Testament, (small,) 4

New Testament, (large,) 2

Old Testament, .......... 6

Book of Psalms,

Book of Proverbs, .........

Psalms in Verse, ..........

Psalms and Hymns, .........

The Dairyman's Daughter,

The Spelling-Book,

The Sixpenny Glass of Wine, .......

Howe's Blind Child's Manual,

THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT.

Howe's Blind Child's First Book,
Howe's Blind Child's Second Book
Howe's Blind Child's Third Book,
Collection of Hymns for the Blind
Milton's Poetical Works,
Diderot's Essay, .

Total number, .

No. of Vols.

. 1

. 2

. 1

. 60

28 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

[No. 5.]
TERMS OF ADMISSION.

Young blind persons, of good moral character, can be admitted to the
School by paying $200 per annum. This sum covers all expenses,
except for clothing ; namely, board, washing, medicines, the use of books,
musical instruments, etc. The pupils must furnish their own clothing,
and pay their own fares to and from the institution. The friends of the
pupils have every reasonable facility for visiting them.

Persons who wish to make a special study of music, and to have extra
instruction, will be charged higher rates.

Indigent blind persons, of suitable age and character, belonging to
Massachusetts, can be admitted gratuitously, by application to the gov-
ernor for a warrant.

The following, is a good form, though any other will do :

" To his Excellency the Governor:

" Sir, — My son, (or daughter, or nephew, or niece, as the case may
be,) named A. B,, and aged , cannot be instructed in the common
schools for want of sight. I am unable to pay for the tuition at the
Institution for the Blind, and I request that your Excellency will grant
a warrant for free admission.

" Very respectfully, ."

The application may be made by any relation or friend, if the parents
are dead or absent.

It should be accompanied by a certificate from one or more of the
selectmen of the town or aldermen of the city, in this form :

" I hereby certify that, in my opinion, Mr. is not a

wealthy person, and that he cannot afford to pay $200 per annum for
his child's instruction. (Signed) " ."

There should also be a certificate, signed by some regular physician,
in this form :

" I certify that, in my opinion, has not sufficient vision

to be taught in common schools ; and that he (or she) is free from epi-
lepsy or any contagious disease.

(Signed) " .

THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT. 29

These papers should be done up together, and directed to " The Sec-
retary of State, State House, Boston, Mass."

An obligation will be required from some responsible person, that the
pupil shall be removed, without expense to the institution, whenever it
may be desirable to discharge him.

The usual period of tuition is from five to seven years.

The pupils are required to attend public worship on the Sabbath, at
some of the churches in the neighborhood, and the parents will designate
the particular church.

Indigent blind persons residing in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Connecticut, and Rhode Island, by applying as above to the " Commis-
sioners for the Blind," care of the Secretary of the State in the respec-
tive States, can obtain warrants of free admission.

For further particulars, address Dr. Samuel G. Howe, Director of the
Institution for the Blind, Boston, Mass.

The relations or friends of the blind who may be sent to the institu-
tution, are requested to furnish information in answer to the following
questions :

1. "What is the name of the applicant?

2. Where was he [or she] born ?

3. State the year, month and day of the birth.

4. Was he [or she] born blind ? If not, at what age was the sight
impaired ?

5. Is the blindness total or partial ?

6. What is the supposed cause of the blindness ?

7. Has he [or she] ever been subject to fits ?

8. Is he [or she] now in good health and free from eruptions and
contagious diseases of the skin ?

9. Has he [or she] ever been to school, if yes, where ?

10. What is the general moral character of the applicant?

11. Is he gentle and docile in temper, or the contrary?

12. Has he any peculiarity of temper and disposition?

13. Of what country was father of the applicant a native?

14. AVhat was the general bodily condition and health of the father,
was he vigorous and healthy, or the contrary ?

15. Was the father of the applicant ever subject to fits or scrofula?

16. Were all his senses perfect ?

17. Was he always a temperate man ?

18. About how old was he when the applicant was born ?

19. Was there any known peculiarity in the family of the father of
the applicant ; that is, were any of the grand-parents, parents, uncles,
aunts, brothers, sisters or cousins blind, deaf, or insane, or afflicted with
any infirmity of body or mind ?

30 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

20. If dead, at what age did he die, and of what disorder?

21. Where was the mother of the applicant born?

22. What was the general bodily condition of the mother of the
applicant, strong and healthy, or the contrary ?

23. Was she ever subject to scrofula or to fits ?

24. Were all her senses perfect ?

25. Was she always a temperate woman ?

26. About how old was she when the applicant was born ?

27. How many children had she before the applicant was born ?

28. Was she related by blood to her husband, if so, in what degree,
1st, 2d, or 3d cousins ?

29. If dead, at what age did she die, and of what disorder?

30. Was there any known peculiarity in her family, that is, were any
of her grand-parents, parents, uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, children,
or cousins, either blind, or deaf, or insane, or afflicted with any infirmity
of body or mind?

31. What are the pecuniary means of the parents, or immediate rela-
tives of the applicant ?

32. How much can they afford to pay towards the support and educa-
tion of the applicant ?

PUBLIC DOCUMENT No. 29.

THIRTY-FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT

THE TRUSTEES

PERKINS' INSTITUTION

[fassatjjusetts %^km for % glfttir.

OCTOBER, 1865.

BOSTON:

WRIGHT & POTTER, STATE PRINTERS
No. 4 Sfkisq Lane.

1866.

Perkins' Institution, and 3fassachusetts Asylum for the Blind, )
Boston, December 4, 1865. J

Dear Sir, — I have the honor to enclose the Annual Report
of the Trustees of this Institution to the Corporation, for the
information of the legislature.

Respectfully,

SAM'L G. HOWE.

Hon. 0. Warner, Secretary of State, Sfc., Boston.

ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES.

Perkins1 Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, >
Boston,. October 4, 1865. >

To the Corporation:

Gentlemen, — The undersigned Trustees respectfully report
as follows for the year closing September 30th, 1865 :

The number of members last reported was one hundred and
seventeen. There have been since admitted, twenty-seven;
discharged, nineteen ; present number, one hundred and
twenty-five. Of these, ninety-five are in the school proper,
twenty-eight in the work-shop and laundry, and two in the
household department.

There are several others indirectly connected with the Insti-
tution, who are supplied by it with stock and tools, and work
at home.

The Report of the Director will set forth in detail the condi-
tion of the various departments.

The Trustees would remark that the general health of the
inmates has been good, and their deportment excellent.

The general direction of the Institution, and the immediate
charge of the school and household, have been confided to the
same persons who have exercised it so many years, to the entire
satisfaction of the Board. There has hardly been a change
even among the domestics.

The pupils are so well disposed, and the relations between
them and those in charge are so happy, that hardly any-
thing, deserving the name of government is necessary, and
no system of rewards and punishments is required. There is
indeed strict discipline, with punctuality in all exercises, and dil-

1865.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 29. 5

igence in all pursuits ; but these can hardly be said to be
enforced, because they are so readily given.

The pupils, as a class, are in no wise different from other
youth in respect to their dispositions and passions, and the
same sort of difficulties are apt to arise in schools for the blind
as in ordinary schools. We may therefore fairly attribute the
harmony and good feeling existing in the Institution to the
tact and kindness of those employed in the direction of it, and
who are, for the most part, women. The fact that such good
feeling exists, and has been so long uninterrupted, is creditable
to teachers and pupils.

It is part of the policy to employ blind persons in all offices
which they can fill advantageously. This is desirable, not only
because it gives them the means of support, but it acts as an
incentive to others. There are certain kinds of teaching for
which sight is necessary, but not so with all. The principal
teacher of music is blind, and he makes use of the advanced
pupils as assistants. The foreman of the workshop is a blind
man, and there are two domestics who are employed advanta-
geously about the house.

The general course of instruction, laid down so long ago, has
been followed steadily and' successfully during the past year.
It has been frequently set forth in our annual reports, and
needs only to be generally stated now. The main object is to
train up the pupils in such manner as will best fit them for
self-guidance and support in life. They all receive instruction
in the ordinary English branches, and usually make as great
proficiency in them as do the scholars in our common schools.
Besides this, the rudiments of vocal and instrumental music
are taught to all who have the capacity to learn. They are
trained by the general discipline of the establishment, and by
special exercises, with a view to develop their physical powers,
and to rely upon themselves as much as possible. • The girls
have calisthenic exercises and dancing ; the boys all have a
variety of games. Advantage is taken of the vicinity of the
sea to vary their amusements and exercises. They bathe daily
during the warm season ; and many of them learn to swim, and
to row a boat. Then there is special instruction for both sexes
in such simple handicraft as developes manual dexterity and
prepares them for learning a trade.

6 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

During the last year of their term, they devote themselves
more especially to such calling as they will be likely to follow
in life. Those who manifest unusual ability and musical tal-
ent, combined with good mental ability and aptness to teach,
have special instruction in music. For this the Institution
possesses peculiar and special advantages. It has a large and
beautiful organ, twenty-four pianos, and a good collection of
musical instruments. Above all, it possesses the indispensable
requisites of able and zealous teachers.

Several young men and women have finished their course of
instruction during the past year, and have a fair chance to earn
a livelihood by teaching music and tuning pianos. Most of the
young men who leave us are able to go lo work at trades at
home, or to enter our workshop for adults. This establish-
ment, and the laundry for women, have been in successful
operation during the year. The workmen and women are paid
according to their earnings. All these persons pay their own
board and expenses, and most of them live very comfortably.
Some of those who have been long practised at work are now
laying up a little money every year. The whole amount
earned and paid over to them since October 1st, 1864, is
15,808.28.

Besides this amount there has been paid during the year to
blind persons employed in the Institution, the sum of $2,037.16.
This makes a total of $7,845.4-4 earned by blind persons, and
paid out to them in cash.

The expenses of the Institution during the year have been
uncommonly great. This is mainly owing to building a new
wing, and putting the whole building and grounds in thorough
repair and good order. The new wing furnishes, on the first
floor a large and commodious gymnasium ; on the second floor
a suite of apartments for the principal teacher and his fam-
ily; another suite for the steward and. his family; the third
floor furnishes ten new music rooms ; and the fourth floor
furnishes two large and commodious workshops for the boys.
The old bakery has been removed from the cellar, and rebuilt
above ground in the new wing. Then the old vaults have been
entirely removed and replaced by commodious and thoroughly
ventilated closets, bathing-rooms, &c.

The whole main building is now in excellent condition, and

1865.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 29. 7

nothing is lacking for the comfort of the inmates, and the
economical working of the establishment, except a good and
efficient apparatus for warming and ventilation. When this
is once provided, the building can not only be warmed and
ventilated more thoroughly than before, but it can be done
with greater safety, convenience and economy. The saving
'would probably be nearly enough to pay the interest on the first
cost. Nevertheless, the Trustees have not felt authorized to
make the outlay, because it could not be done without incur-
ring debt. They think that a special appropriation should be
asked of the legislature to cover the expenses, and recommend
that their successors should ask for it.

The play-grounds have been enlarged by purchasing a lot of
land next out of the girls' yard. This is the last vacant lot
adjoining our premises, all the others being occupied by dwell-
ing-houses.

These new buildings, and the alterations and improve-
ments in the old ones, have been undertaken at a time when
materials and labor were enormously expensive, but the neces-
sity of the case seemed to leave no other course. The expen-
diture, however, must be considered in the nature of an invest-
ment, and it is doubtless a good one.

The new wing is built in the most substantial manner, with
the best materials. All the improvements are of a permanent
nature ; and although they have required the expenditure of a
large part of the available funds of the Institution, the Trustees
felt authorized to make them, because they had come to the
conclusion that the present location is, upon the whole, the best
that can be had, and, that the Institution will probably remain
there during their day and generation, at least.

The expenditure leaves the Institution dependent for its cur-
rent expenses upon the liberality of the legislature, and gifts
of the charitable ; but these may safely be relied upon so long as
they are merited by a wise and prudent management of its affairs.

REASONS FOR INCREASING THE CAPACITY OP THE INSTITUTION.

There are now in the United States some ten or twelve insti-
tutions for the blind, which may be considered as permanently
established. These are all in the northern States, and it is a
gratifying fact, that they have all flourished during the late

8 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

war ; while, on the other hand, those which had been organized
in the slave States, and were struggling on through precarious
infancy, were unhappily involved by the rebellion in the gen-
eral ruin which it brought upon the southern section of the
Union. Some of these will be revived, and the whole country
will then be provided with institutions in which ordinary blind
youth can get the rudiments of knowledge, and such general-
instruction in music as will suffice in ordinary life.

The pupils in all the institutions amount to nearly one thou-
sand. Besides these, there are some children who have the
means of being taught at home. Now among these there must
be many who have taste and ability for higher literary attain-
ments, and greater proficiency in music than can be afforded
in ordinary public institutions, and who have the means of
paying for them.

There is, then, a want of some place in which such blind
persons can find what they need, to wit, instruction in the
higher branches of study, such as are given in our best acade-
mies and high schools, and opportunity for scientific and
thorough musical education.

It will be the object of this institution to supply this want;
and, indeed, it can now do so in respect to music.

The musical instruction is of a high order. It is both scien-
tific and thorough ; and the organ and piano-fortes, though in
plain cases, are finished in the best manner by the best makers
in the country. But besides the rare opportunity for the study
of music within the walls of the Institution, our pupils have
the inestimable advantage of easy access to operas, concerts,
oratorios and public musical performances of all kinds. Bos-
ton has excellent musical societies, and the managers of most
of these do, with great liberality, afford to our pupils every
facility and encouragement in their power. The Institution is
therefore enabled to offer young blind persons from any part of
the country, at very low rates, advantages and facilities for
perfecting themselves in the study of music, such as can hardly
be had elsewhere at any price.

The report of the Treasurer will show the condition of the
finances.

The reports of the Director, which have been made monthly
to the Board, and kept them informed of the condition of the

1865.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 29. 9

Institution, are on file. His accounts, as Steward, show in
detail all the expenditures ; these accounts are audited every
month by the Auditors, who alone are authorized to draw
warrants upon the Treasurer.

The several inventories required by law are herewith sub-
mitted.

Finally, the Trustees commend the Institution to the corpo-
ration, the legislature, and the public, as worthy of their con-
fidence and support.

Respectfully,

THOS. T. BOUVE.
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS.
JOSEPH LYMAN.
GEORGE R. RUSSELL.
JAMES STURGIS.
JOSIAH QUINCY.
JOHN H. STEPHENSON.
JOSEPH B. THAXTER, Jr.
THOS. B. ROTCH.
WM. B. ROGERS.

S. G. Howe, Secretary.

10 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

TERMS OF ADMISSION.

Young blind persons, of good moral character, can be admitted to the
school by paying $250 per annum. This sum covers all expenses,
except for clothing ; namely, board, washing, medicines, the use of books,
musical instruments, etc. The pupils must furnish their own clothing,
and pay their own fares to and from the Institution. The friends of the
pupil have every reasonable facility for visiting them.

Persons who wish to make a special study of music, and to have extra
instruction, will be charged higher rates.

Indigent blind persons, of suitable age and character, belonging to
Massachusetts, can be admitted gratuitously, by application to the gov-
ernor for a warrant.

The following, is a good form, though any other will do :

" To his Excellency the Governor :

" Sir, — My son, (or daughter, or nephew, or niece, as the case may
be,) named A. B., and aged , cannot be instructed in the common
schools for want of sight. I am unable to pay for the tuition at the
Institution for the Blind, and I request that your Excellency will grant
a warrant for free admission.

" Very respectfully, ."

The application may be made by any relation or friend, if the parents
are dead or absent.

It should be accompanied by a certificate from one or more of the
selectmen of the town or aldermen of the city, in this form :

" I hereby certify that, in my opinion, Mr. is not a

wealthy person, and that he cannot afford to pay $250 per annum for his
child's instruction. (Signed) ."

There should also be a certificate, signed by some regular physician,
in this form :

" I certify that, in my opinion, has not sufficient vision

to be taught in common schools ; and that he (or she) is free from epi-
lepsy or any contagious disease.

(Signed) " ."

1865.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 29. 11

These papers should be done up together, and directed to " The Sec-
retary of the Commonwealth, State House, Boston, Mass."

An obligation will be required from some responsible person, that the
pupil shall be removed, without expense to the Institution, whenever it
may be desirable to discharge him.

The usual period of tuition is from five to seven years.

The pupils are required to attend public worship on the Sabbath, at
some of the churches in the neighborhood, and the parents will designate
the particular church.

Indigent blind persons residing in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Connecticut, and Rhode Island, by applying as above to the " Commis-
sioners for the BJind," care of the Secretary of State in the respective
States, can obtain warrants of free admission.

For further particulars, address Dr. Samuel G. Howe, Director of the
Institution for the Blind, Boston, Mass.

The relations or friends of the blind who may be sent to the Institu-
tion, are requested to furnish information in answer to the following
questions :

1. What is the name of the applicant?

2. Where was he [or she] born ?

3. State the year, month and day of the birth.

4. Was he [or she] born blind ? If not, at what age was the sight
impaired ?

5. Is the blindness total or partial ?

6. What is the supposed cause of the blindness ?

7. Has he [or she] ever been subject to fits ?

8. Is he [or she] now in good health and free from eruptions and
contagious diseases of the skin ?

9. Has he [or she] ever been to school, if yes, where ?

10. What is the general moral character of the applicant?

11. Is he gentle and docile in temper, or the contrary?

12. Has he any peculiarity of temper and disposition ?

13. Of what country was father of the applicant a native ?

14. What was the general bodily condition and health of the father,
was he vigorous and healthy, or the contrary ?

15. Was the father of the applicant ever subject to fits or scrofula?

16. Were all his senses perfect ?

17. Was he always a temperate man ?

18. About how old was he when the applicant was born ?

19. Was there any known peculiarity in the family of the father of
the applicant ; that is, were any of the grand-parents, parents, uncles,
aunts, brothers, sisters or cousins blind, deaf, or insane, or afflicted with
any infirmity of body or mind ?

12 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

20. If dead, at what age did be die, and of what disorder ?

21. Where was the mother of the applicant born?

22. What was the general bodily condition of the mother of the
applicant, strong and healthy, or the contrary ?

23. Was she ever subject to scrofulous affections, or to fits ?

24. Were all her senses perfect ?

25. Was she always a temperate woman ?

26. About how old was she when the applicant was born ?

27. How many children had she before the applicant was born ?

28. Was she related by blood to her husband, if so, in what degree,
1st, 2d, or 3d, cousins?

29. If dead, a£ what age did she die, and of what disorder ?

31. What are the pecuniary means of the parents, or immediate
relatives of the applicant ?

32. How much can they afford to pay towards the support and edu-
cation of the applicant ?

1865.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 29.

Perkins' Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind.
in account with Wm. Claflin, Treasurer.

1865.
Oct. 1.

Dr.

To amount paid on drafts of Auditor of Accounts for
current expenses, from October 1st, 1864, to Sep-
tember 30th, 1S65, drafts numbered 199, 201, 202, *
203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212,
213, 214, 215, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222,. . . $48,126 41
To collection of $2,325, Vermont draft, \ per cent, 5 81

To Cash for one share of State Bank to make 18
shares old exchanged for 12 shares National State
Bank, 75 00

To Interest balance to date, 232 78

|48,440 00

1864. Cr.

Oct. 1. By balance of cash on hand, . '. . $1,053 82

5. By Cash, Tremont Bank dividend, . . 135 00

State Bank dividend, . . . 136 00

Columbian Bank dividend, . . 56 00

New England Bank dividend, . 45 00

State of Massachusetts, . . 4,000 00

By Cash, State of Maine, .... 1,191 79

By Cash, State of Rhode Island, . . 845 83

By Cash, dividend Western Railroad, . . 300 00
Boston and Providence Railroad, . 180 00
By Cash, State of Vermont, . . . 2,325 00
By Cash, dividend Boston and Maine R. R., 120 00
State of Massachusetts, . . 4,000 00
By Cash, State of Connecticut for Beneficia-
ries, $1,500, less collection, $1.88, 1,498 12
from Mr. Green, for board and

tuition of daughter, . . . 50 00
from Mr. Harris, for board and

tuition of son, .... 60 00
from Mrs. Salisbury, for board and

tuition of John Penno, . . 100 00

Dec. 14.

28.
1865.
Jan. 2.

28.

Carried forivard,

$16,096 56

14 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

Brought forward, .
Jan. 28. By Cash, from Mr. Marsh, account Laura
Bridgman,
from sale of tickets, (exhibitions,)
from sale of books and 'writing-
board, ....
from donation of Mr. Warren,
Feb. 18. By Cash, sold through Brewster, Sweet &
Co., 20 shares Boston and Maine
Railroad at $122£, $2,450, less
brokerage, $5, and tax $1, $6, . 2,444 00

23. v By sale through Brewster, Sweet & Co., 10

shares Boston and Maine Railroad, at
$121£, $1,215, less brokerage, $2.50,
and tax $0.50, $3, . 1,212 00

24. By sale through Brewster, Sweet & Co., 20

shares Boston and Providence Rail-
road, at $130, $2,600, less brokerage,
$5, and tax $1, $6, .
Apr. 20. By Bank dividends :

On 16 shares Columbian, $
gold, sold at $1.46,

On 9 shares New England,

On 17 shares State,

On 40 shares Tremont, .

28. By State of Massachusetts,
June 30. By Legacy of T. Tidd,
July 6. By State of Massachusetts,

Western Railroad dividend,
17. By State of Maine, for instruction of pupils,

$1,316.63, less \ per cent, col., $3.29, 1,313 34
21. By Dr. Howe, account of ben-
eficiaries, New Hampshire, $3,000 00
Dr. Howe, account of ben-
eficiaries, Connecticut, . 2,291 90
Dr. Howe, beneficiaries,

Rhode Island, . . . 283 84
Dr. Howe, Mr.Trafton, board

and tuition of daughter, . 50 00

Dr. Howe, Mr. Murray,

board and tuition of son, . 50 00

Dr. Howe, J. C. Harris,

board and tuition of son, . 160 71
Dr. Howe, Mrs. Spencer, ac-
count of son, . . . 134 54

•

2,594 00

$70 08

270 00

40 80

160 00

540 88
4,000 00

. •

300 00

4,000 00

240 00

Carried forward, . . . $5,973 99 $32,884 78

1865.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 29. 15

Brought forward, .... $5,973 99 $32,884 78
July 21. By Dr. Howe, Mr. Marsh, ac-
count of Laura Bridgman, 50 00
Dr. Howe, sale of books,
$13.70 ; writing-boards,
$26.95 ; tickets, $32.30, . 72 95
Dr. Howe, net proceeds of

concert at Worcester, . 62 75

Dr. Howe, Union Mut. Ins.
Co., amount of damage, . 20 00

6,179 69

Dr. Howe, State of Vermont beneficia-
ries, 341 50

Aug. 5. By sale of Western Railroad rights, . . 127 50
Sept. 30. By Dr. Howe, for sale of books, $13 ; acc't

J. W. Murray, $50, .... 63 00

Balance to new account, .... 8,843 53

$48,440 00

ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

[Oct.

Boston, October, 1865.

The undersigned, a committee appointed to examine the accounts of the
Perkins' Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, for the year
1864-5 hereby certify that they have attended to that duty, and that they
find the accounts to be properly vouched and correctly cast, and that there is
a cash balance due the Treasurer from the Institution, of eighty-eight hundred
and forty-three $*„ dollars. •

The Treasurer also exhibited to us, evidence of the following property
belonging to the institution :

12 shares State National Bank, .

. $1,200 00

9 " New England National Bank,

900 00

40 " Tremont National Bank,

. 4,000 00

16 " Columbian National Bank, .

. 1,600 00

60 " Western Railroad,

. 5,801 46

25 " Concord Railroad,

. 1,250 00

$14,751 46

Deed of land in

South Boston, June, 1840, .

. $755 68

(« M

" « March, 1847,

. 5,000 00

l( C(

" " September, 1845,

. 5,500 00

(( M

" « January, 1850,

. 1,762 50

(( II

" " July, 1850, .

. 1,020 25

« «

» « May, 1855, .

. 3,710 00

u u

« " August, 1855,

450 00

a a

" " April, 1855,

. 1,311 50

19 500 93

$34,261 39

WM. ENDICOTT, Jr.,
CHAS. E. STEVENS,

Auditors.

1865.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 29.

Analysis of Treasurer' s Account.

The Treasurer's Keport shows that the total receipts during

the year, were, $39,596 47

Deduct cash on hand at the beginning of the year, . . 1,053 82

Net receipts,

5,542 65

Ordinary Receipts.
From State of Massachusetts, . . $16,000. 00

Beneficiaries of other States and pri-
vate pupils, .... 13,749 57
Dividends on stock, . . . 1,752 88

Extraordinary Receipts.

WO±,OV* ^u

From sale of stocks, ....

. $6,377 50

Mr. Marsh, acc't Laura Bridgman,

110

sale of tickets, books, &c. .

164 95

Donation of Mr. "Warren, .

Legacy of T. Tidd, .

300

proceeds of Concert at Worcester,

Ins. Co. for amount of damage, .

7,040 20

■

$38,542 65

He paid out on orders of the Auditors, .

$48,126 42

paid out for collecting drafts, interest,

&c, .

•

313 58

Total actual payments,

$48,440 00

Total receipts paid Treasurer,

$38,542 65

Amount of cash on hand,

1,053

39,596 47

Balance due Treasurer,

5,843 53

18 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

General Analysis of Steward's Account, October 1st, 1865.

Dr. Cr.

Amount due October 1, 1864, $655 53

Paid as per Steward's book, —

Ordinary expenses as per schedule annexed, and
extraordinary expenses as per schedule for con-
struction, 48,816 92

Total receipts on drafts from Treasurer, . . . $48,126 42
receipts from other sources as per schedule
annexed, &c, 1,203 71

Less error in draft 210,
Amount due Steward, October 1, 1865,

$49,330 13
50

$49,329
142

$49,472 45 $49,472 45

Amounts received by Steward during the year ending September 30, 1865,
not paid Treasurer.

For bread, ' . $514 53

board of laundry women, ....... 626 86

sale of flour barrels, . . . . . . . . 6 00

sale of tickets, '. . 47 60

amount returned on account of Wm. Denney, . . . 2 00

sale of grease, 6 72

Total, $1,203 71

1865.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 29.

General Analysis of Expenditures for the year ending September 30,
1865, as per Steward's Account.

ARTICLES.

Amounts paid

during the

year.

Liabilities Oct.
1865, for arti-
cles purch'd.

Household furniture, .

Dry goods and clothing,

Fruits and vegetables,

Bread stuffs,

Groceries, .

Dairy,

Meats,

Fish, .

Water and ice,

Fuel and light,

School apparatus

Advertising,

Post office and telegrams, .

Printing office and printing,

Boys' shop, ....

Drugs, medicines and dentistry,

Washing, ....

Taxes, ....

Insurance, ....

Stable, ....

Travelling and express,

Tools,

Boarding pupils out, .

Salaries and wages, . ' .

Office in town, .

Advance for water and newspapers,

Refunded to Mr. Greene,

Construction and repairs,

Deed of land,

Liabilities of 1864 paid in '61 and '65

Total,

Deduct for construction,

Land,

Advance for water and newspapers,
Liabilities of 1861 paid '61 and '65,

Actual current expenditures,

$946 44

388 38

436 31

1,671 67

1,128 98

1,667 04

1,577 11

101 77

30 00

476 19

326 04

101 42

49 49

190 23

44 61

16 62

1,071 99

25 47

255 00

1,291 36

353 31

27 04

183 12

9,197 10

'8 09

14 25

13 60

16,419 94

1,600 00

7,714 92

17,484 50

1,600 00

14 25

7,714 92

$159 87

$1,106 31

216 50

604 88

180 88

617 19

196 60

1,868 27

357 91

1,486 89

441 63

2,108 67

641 50

2,218 61

51 12

155 89

107 70

137 70

1,724 25

2,200 44

64 25

390 29

101 42

5 33

54 82

68 81

259 04

59 03

103 64

6 17

22 79

972 41

2,044 40

25 47

315 00

570 00

205 52

1,496 88

39 55

392 86

8 29

35 33

13 50

196 62

267 85

9,464 95

1 00

9 09

14 25

13 60

2,374 60

18,791 54

1,600 00

7,714 92

$55,809 76

26,813 67

•

$28,996 09

20 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

General Abstract of the Accounts of the Work Departments, October

1, 1865.
Workshop — Liabilities.
Due Institution for original loan, .... $13,756 96
Due Institution for use of horse, wagon, &c, . • 650 00

Due sundry individuals, 33° 73 $u m Qg

Assets.

Stock on hand, $5,378 48

Cash on hand, 2>495 68

Ttehu due 3,960 74

Debts due, » UQZi QQ

Balance against the workshop, . . • $2,902 97

Balance against the workshop, Oct. 1, 1864, .... $3,158 85
Balance against the workshop, Oct. 1, 1865, .... 2,902 79

Gain of the year, $256 06

Amount paid blind workmen for the year ending Sept. 30, 1865, $3,827 16
Amount paid blind workmen for the year ending Sept. 30, 1864, 3,560 02

Increase over last year, $267 14

Amount of sales for the year ending Sept. 30, 1865, . . . $22,554 96
Amount of sales for the year ending Sept. 30, 1864, . . . 18,604 65

$3,950 31

Laundry — Liabilities.

Due Institution for original loan, .... $2,621 46

Due store No. 20, Bromfield Street, ... 253 38

Due sundry individuals, 487 18

Due institution for sundry bills paid, . . . 471 9Q

Assets.

Debts due, $602 40

Cash on hand, M 00 636 4Q

Balance against the laundry, .... $3,197 52

Balance against the laundry, Oct. 1, 1865, .... $3,197 52

Balance against the laundry, Oct. 1, 1864, .... 2,621^46

Increase of indebtedness, or loss, $576 06

1865.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 29. 21

Amount received for washing and ironing for the year ending
Sept. 30, 1865, . $5,142 04

Amount paid blind women for the year ending Sept. 30, 1865, . $1,981 12

If interest on $13,756.96, capital originally invested
is charged — $825.37 — the net cost of carrying on
the men's work for the year will be, . . . $569 31

Cost of women's laundry will be —

Interest on original loan, ($2,621.46,) . $157 27

Loss, .... f .. 576 06

733 33

Total cost for the year of the work department
including interest on capital, .. $1,302 64

Deducting interest the loss is ... . $320 00

ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. [Oct. '65.

OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION,

1865-6

PRESIDENT.

p SAMUEL MAY.

VICE-PRESIDENT.

STEPHEN FAIRBANKS

TREASURER.

WILLIAM CLAFLIN.

SECRETARY.

SAMUEL G. HOWE.

TRUSTEES.

THOMAS T. BOUVE.
SAMUEL ELIOT.
STEPHEN FAIRBANKS.
GEORGE S. HALE.
JOSEPH LYMAN.
JOSIAH QUINCY.

WILLIAM B. ROGERS.
BENJAMIN S. ROTCH.
GEORGE R. RUSSELL.
JOHN H. STEPHENSON.
JAMES STURGIS.
JOSEPH B. THAXTER, Jr.

THIRTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT

TRUSTEES

§ txkm ^iwtxMwn anir |$assarj}iisrite
%*$nxa for % §lmtr,

TO THE CORPORATION.

< ■»»»-»-

BOSTON:

WEIGHT & POTTEE, PBINTEES, No. 4 SPE1NG LANE.
1867.

VISITING COMMITTEE.

For October,

. Messrs. Apthorp and Bouve.

November, .

Bouve and Brooks.

December, .

Brooks and Eliot.

January,

Eliot and Hale.

Feburary,

Hale and Lowell.

March,

Lowell and Lyman.

April,

Lyman and Quincy.

May, .

Quincy and Mudge.

June, .

•

Mudge and Perkins.

July, .

Perkins and Rotch.

August,

Rotch and Sturgis.

September,

Sturgis and Apthorp

ANNUAL REPORT.

Perkins Institution for the Blind, \
Boston, Nov. 19, 1866. \

To the Corporation.

Gentlemen : — The undersigned Trustees have
the honor to report as follows for the year closing
September 30, 1866.

The number of blind persons immediately con-
nected with the Institution, as last reported, was
117. Since then 30 have been admitted, and 24
discharged, leaving the present number 123.

The monthly reports of the Director set forth in
detail the number of admissions, discharges and the
like, and the history of the year. This has been
very satisfactory. The general health of the
inmates has been excellent. The prescribed course
of study and work has been followed regularly and
industriously; and no untoward event has occurred.

Besides the blind persons immediately connected
with the establishment, several others have been
furnished with aid for carrying on at home the
broom trade, or business they learned here. They
are provided with tools and stock at cost ; and those

who cannot readily sell their goods at home, can
send them to our store to be sold on their account.
This is considered to be the wisest and best mode
of carrying out the object of the Institution. It
helps the blind to help themselves; it lessens the
evil of attracting them from the country to settle
in the city; it obviates the inconveniences and evils
of large boarding establishments; and it keeps
unbroken those ties of family, of friendship and of
neighborhood, which are more important even, for
the blind, than for ordinary persons.

An institution for the blind which keeps the
greatest number of persons usefully employed, and
earning their own livelihood at their different homes,
while having the least number within its walls, does
its work with the least show, but the greatest
efficiency.

The blind are generally poor; and the poverty of
some, and the impatience of others, prevents them
from devoting the time and labor to their respective
callings which is absolutely necessary for excel-
lence. Some rush to the market with their imper-
fect wares; others offer themselves as musicians, or
teachers of music, or tuners of pianos, before they
are properly prepared. The public extends them a
ready sympathy, and they mistake its kind tolera-
tion for genuine approval. But sympathy and
kindness do not make a sound basis for trade; and
the public tire of buying inferior articles, or putting

up with poor services. Our graduates begin to
find this out; aiad it is gratifying to state that a
much larger proportion of them now succeed in
getting a good livelihood than in former years.

They have learned that it pays better to secure a
permanent market and moderate profits by character
for substantial and faithful work, than to rely upon
an extra price paid in view of their infirmity. Of
those who have left within five years, two-thirds
are doing well ; and some very well, in their several
trades.

The same is true of those who study music.
There are at least twenty, in and near Boston, who
earn a handsome support as pianists, tuners, organ-
ists, &c. Some have permanent places in piano-
forte manufactories as tuners.

The changes and improvements in the buildings
and grounds which have involved great expense,
and nearly consumed the surplus funds, are now
completed, and found to be of great advantage.
The only things wanting, to make the premises
entirely satisfactory, are, first, a removal of the
brick stable on the land lately purchased, so as to
give an easy and commodious access to the main
building; and, second, a heating apparatus more
safe, commodious and economical, than the present
one. "When these are done, the Institution will
possess great and rare advantages in respect to
material arrangements and conveniences, as of

school-rooms, music-rooms, sleeping-rooms, work-
shops and the like. These indeed can be had any-
where by spending money enough; but the advan-
tages of location must exist; they cannot be bought.
In this respect our Institution is most fortunate.
The location is not only salubrious, but it possesses
many rare advantages. Among them, that which
is indispensable for the highest culture in certain
branches — to wit, easy access to the centre of a
large and highly cultivated community. The estab-
lishment is within the city, and yet has singular
advantages of room and air. It is upon the sum-
mit of a dry, gravelly peninsula, which slopes away
on all sides to the sea-shore. There is ample space
within the premises ; and the neighborhood presents
rare opportunities for all sorts of land exercises.
Besides these, there are great facilities for bathing,
swimming, and rowing, — of all of which our pupils
avail themselves; many of them being good
swimmers and good oarsmen.

The facilities for attending churches, lectures,
concerts, &c, are uncommonly great, and have been
duly improved.

The advantages of easy access to musical per-
formances of the highest order are of very great
importance to those who are to become musicians.
Boston presents many such, and the persons who
conduct them are generally very kind and liberal
towards our pupils.

They thus have an opportunity of training the
ear in the best school. This is all-important to
those who are to become musicians; as essential
indeed as the sight of good pictures and statuary
to one who would become a good painter or
sculptor.

The immediate charge of the establishment has
^ been intrusted to Dr. Samuel Gr. Howe, and the
several officers who have so long and so acceptably
administered it.

The inventory of real and personal estate shows
the assets to be $175,000; of these, however, less
than $5,000 are investments which pay any income.
The Institution is therefore entirely dependent upon
the bounty of the State. The annual appropriation
in its favor has been raised to $20,000; but even
this, at the present scale of prices, does not suffice
to meet its wants ; and the Trustees will be com-
pelled to ask for more.

The report of the Treasurer, Hon. "William
Claflin, will show the receipts and expenditures,
and also the amount of available funds on hand.

It will be perceived that this is very small; too
small, indeed, to carry on the Institution upon the
liberal and efficient scale which has hitherto charac-
terized its operations.

By liberality is not meant luxury of living, nor
high pay; for the fare has always been very plain,
and the salaries barely enough to command good

service; but readiness to procure whatever was
necessary for the instruction and training of the
pupils; the best accommodations and opportunities
for study and work; the best teachers, apparatus
and books; the most perfect musical instruments,
and the like. Much of this, as the grounds, the
buildings, the large organ, &c, is in the nature of
a permanent investment. The Institution is rich in
these, but in nothing else. It has never been suffi-
ciently endowed with funds to live within its
income, but has relied upon the liberality of the
State, and upon occasional donations and legacies.
The Trustees have felt confident that so long as it
continued to deserve well, it would be well sus-
tained ; and, therefore, have not hesitated while they
had funds, to expend them whenever it could be
done with that true economy, which secures large
return of good from reasonable expenditure of
money.

Many things, however, are still wanting, which
cannot be had by any means now at the command
of the Trustees. It is to be regretted that people
generally suppose the Institution to be rich, because
it bears the name of a rich man, who, with others,
gave it liberal gifts; but those gifts have been
expended, or invested in building, and other means
of carrying on the establishment; and the Institu-
tion is now in need of aid and encouragement from
the wealthy and liberal.

•

Two things are now especially wanted : first, the
means of giving- a supplementary course of instruc-
tion in the higher English to those who wish to
pursue a more advanced course of study than is
given in ordinary institutions for the blind; and a
more thorough musical education to a select num-
ber of pupils who have the capacity and disposition
for high culture. Second, the means of printing of
books in raised letters.

Our press has been almost idle for several years ;
and has ceased to supply the blind with books.
This is felt as a sad loss, not only by our own pupils,
but by all those in the country who have learned to
read. The Trustees hope and believe that the sus-
pension of work will be only temporary. In former
times our press not only supplied the other institu-
tions with school and text-books, but provided many
valuable standard works for the general use of all
the educated blind in the country. The whole
Bible, Milton's works, The Vicar of Wakefield,
Tytler's History, Paley's Philosophy, Pierce's
Geometry, and several other valuable books have
been printed and widely circulated. A cyclopgedia,
intended to be a compend of general knowledge,
reached its eighth volume, and stopped for want of
funds. The books are very costly, though very
durable; but the blind are generally poor, and,
therefore, though the desire to possess books is
strong, the sale is very limited. Many of our books

hate been given away, or furnished at less than
cost. The work of printing for the blind must be
done, — mainly by charity; and surely it is hard to
find a field in which a little seed will bear more
abundant fruit.

Whoever will select some standard book, and
furnish the means of stereotyping it, may have the
satisfaction of dispensing happiness very widely in
his own day, and the assurance that many in com-
ing generations will rise up and call him blessed.

The Trustees heartily commend this matter to
the minds and hearts of those who are able and
willing to forward benevolent enterprises.

The accounts of the Steward are herewith pre-
sented in detail. They have all been audited
regularly. All money received is paid over to the
Treasurer, who pays it out only upon regular drafts
of the Auditors of accounts.

The accounts of the "Work Department show
that although the men's shop can pay its way, yet
the women's laundry, thus far, continues to be
costly.

The several inventories of real and personal
estate, required by law, are herewith submitted.

The Trustees have to lament the death of two of
their number, who have served the Institution long
and faithfully.

Mr. Stephen Fairbanks has been a Trustee on
the part of the State for nearly twenty years. He

has acted as one of the Auditors of accounts for
ten years, and always discharged his duties with
care and attention. He manifested his interest in
the Institution by frequent visits; and his genial
and pleasant manner made his visits most welcome.

Mr. George R. Russell was also a faithful
and valuable Trustee; and though of late years his
infirm health prevented his frequent attendance at
the meetings, he still rendered good service by his
counsel and his sympathy.

finally, the Trustees commend the Institution
and the interests of the unfortunate and afflicted
class for whose benefit it exists, to the attention
and the confidence of the legislature and of the
public, and invoke upon them the favor and
blessing of Him from whom cometh all good.

(Signed,) ROBERT E. APTHORP.
THOS. T. BOUVE.
FRANCIS BROOKS.
SAMUEL ELIOT.
GEORGE S. HALE.
JOSEPH LYMAN.
JOSIAH QUINCY.
E. R. MUDGE.
JAMES STURGIS.
BENJ. S. ROTCH.
EDWARD N. PERKINS.

Sam'l G. Howe, Secretary.

Perkins Institution and [Massachusetts Asylum for
Blind in account ivith William Claflin, Treasurer.

1865.

Dr.

Oct. 1.

To balance of cash,

, $8,843 53

10.

cash, per draft No. 223, .

. 2,000 00

25.

u U

No. 224, .

. 3,245 75

Nov. 8.

a a

No. 225, .

. 3,252 20

15.

" per Dr.

Howe received fi

'om State for

workshop, .

130 12

Dec. 18.

To cash, per draft No. 226, .

. 3,901 57

1866.

Jan. 2.

To cash, per draft No. 227, .

. 3,000 00

17.

t< u

No. 228, .

. 3,0*22 56

Feb. 17.

(( u

No. 229, .

. 3,087 14

Mar. 15.

K (1

No. 230, .

. 3,339 57

Apr. 16.

« a

No. 231, .

. 4,284 10

July 2.

a a

No. 232, .

. 3,236 22

Aug. 4.

a u

No. 233, .

. 4,504 68

Oct. 1.

114 84

. 4,954 87
$50,917 15

1865.

Cr.

Oct. 10.

By cash from State of Massachusetts

. ft $4,130 12

10.

Bank Dividends :

19.

20.

20.
20.

New England Bank, . . . . $45 00

State Bank, 48 00

Tremont Bank, .... 200 00

Columbian Bank, . . . . 240 00

By cash, donation of Samuel May, Esq.,
" to be expended by the trustees
in printing books pamphlets and
papers, suitable for the use of the
pupils, for their benefit," ....

By cash, per Dr. Howe's account, dated

Oct. 18, for tuning pianos by pupils, $58 60

By cash, per sale of books, . . . 273 95
" " of tickets, . . . 25 55

533 00

1,000 00

Carried forward,

$358 10 $5,663 12

Brought fonvard, .... $358 10 $5,663 12
Oct. 20. By cash, per sale of three printing ma-
chines, 15 00

373 10

25. By cash, Concord Kailroad dividends, . . . 150 00
Nov. 2. " " " "... 50 00

11. By cash, sale of 60 shares Western R. R., . . 8,262 00
Dec. 19. " of Dr. Howe, board and tuition of pupils,

sales, &c, per his account rendered, . 1,640 58
30. By cash, sale of Concord R. R. stock :

twenty shares, at $60, . . . $1,200 00
five shares, at $61, . . .305 00

$1,505 00

iss broker'
By cash,

s tax, per Brewster, Sweet & Co.
State of Massachusetts, .

, 6 87

1,498 13
4,000 00

1866.
Jan. 16.

22.

" of Maine,

1,373 28

Mar. 31.

" of Massachusetts, .

4,000 00

Apr. 3.

Bank Dividends :
Tremont, .
Columbian, .
State, .
New England,

. $200 00
80 00
48 00
45 00

272 on

16. By cash, Dr. Howe, sales, &c, per his account

rendered, 1,242 43

23. " State of Vermont, $2,187.50 ; less am't

per collection, $5.47, .... 2,182 03
May, 3. " State of Rhode Island, .... 1,800 00

16. " Legacy, £10, of Francis Walder Mitch-

ell, of Renton Co., Dunbarton, Scot-
land, received through Henry Mitchell,

of Boston, 67 50

21. By cash, sale of Bank Stocks through Brewster,

Sweet & Co. :

16 shares Columbian Bank, at $112, $1,792 00

40 " Tremont Bank, at $115£, 4,620 00

9 " New England B'k, at $115, 1,035 00

12 " State Bank, at $106^, . 1,278 00

$8,725 00
Less brokerage, $19.25, and tax, $3.85, 23 10

8,701 90

Carried forward, .... . $41,377 07

Brought forward,

May 28. By cash from State of Connecticut,
July 5. " " " of Massachusetts, .

Sept. 1. By cash, Dr. Howe, as per account rendei'ed,

OQ u u u a u a

11,377 07

2,625 00

6,000 00

756 50

158 58

50,917 15

Oct. 1. By balance, cash, .

(Signed,)

. $4,954 87
WM. CLAFLIN.

General Analysis of Steward's Account, October 1, 1866.

Dr.

Cr.

,839 13

Amount due October 1, 1865, ....

Paid as per Steward's book, —
Ordinary expenses as per schedule annexed, and
extraordinary expenses as per schedule for

extraordinary repairs, &c, .... 37,344 04

Total receipts on drafts from Treasurer, . . $36,873 79
receipts from other sources as per schedule

annexed, &c, ..... 2,702 50

Amount due Steward, October 1, 1866,

$39,576 29
. 5,606 88

L5,183 17145,183 17

Amounts received by Steward during the year ending September 30, 1866,
and not paid over to Treasurer.

For bread supplied to School for Idiots, &c, .

board of laundry women,

board of Mr. Campbell's family, . . • .

board of G. A. Huse,

balance due from salesroom for use of horse and wagon,

Carried forward,

. $1,354 63

147 50

181 38

11 48

724 46

. $2,419 45

Brought forward, $2,419 45

For sale of horse, 172 28

amount returned on account of A. D'Ouville, . . . 28 00

error in voucher, 10 00

sale of tickets, ......... 43 20

sale of grease, . . ... . . . . . 6 54

sale of flour barrels, 23 03

Total, $2,702 50

General Analysis of Expenditures for the year ending September 30,
1866, as per Steward's Account.

ARTICLES.

Amounts paiu dur-
ing the year.

Household furniture, $1,713 68

Dry goods and clothing,

432 06

Fruits and vegetables, .

524 67

Breadstuff's, .

. 2,358 42

Groceries,

1,913 27

Dairy, .

. 2,702 60

Meats, .

2,055 59

Fish, .

245 32

Water and ice,

253 10

Fuel and light,

2,479 09

School apparatus,

1,641 75

Advertising, .

34 38

Post office and telegrams,

19 33

Printing office and printing,

685 93

Boys' shop, .

316 15

Drugs, medicines and dentistry,

47 77

Washing, ....

2,308 49

Taxes,

30 02

Insurance, ....

90 00

Stable,

1,397 69

Travelling and express,

103 13

Extraordinary travelling expenses

of p

npils,

216 35

Boarding pupils out,

151 14

Salaries and wages,

11,763 87

Office in town,

187 68

Cash refunded,

47 17

Fire crackers,

2 83

Construction and repairs,

3,622 56

Liabilities of 1865 paid in 1865 and 1866,

7,839 13

$45,183 17

Deduct for

Extraordinary repairs and construction, . . $2,700 57

Extraordinary travelling expenses of pupils, . 216 35

Liabilities of 1865 paid in 1865 and 1866, . 7,839 13

Actual current expenditures,

),756 05

$34,427 12

October 1st, 1866.

The undersigned, a Committee appointed to examine the accounts of
the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, for the
year 1865-6, have attended to that duty, and hereby certify that they find
the accounts to be properly vouched and correctly cast, and that there is
a cash balance in the hands of the Treasurer of $4,954.87, (forty-nine
hundred fifty-four and T857^ dollars.)

The Treasurer also exhibited to us evidence of the following property
belonging to the Institution : —

Deed of land in South Boston, dated April, 1844; .
" " " dated August, 1848,

" " " dated February, 1847, .

" " " dated January, 1850,

" " " dated July, 1850, .

« " " dated April, 1855, $2,810.50

less mortgage, $1,500, .
" " « dated April, 1855, .

" " " dated August, 1855,

(Signed,)

THOS, T. BOUVE,
GEORGE S. HALE,

. $755 68

. 5,500 00

. 5,000 00

. 1,762 50

. 1,020 25

. 1,311 50

. 3,710 00

450 00

$19,509 93

A uditors.

ADDRESS

DELIVERED AT THE CEREMONY OF

LAYING THE CORNER-STONE

lefc ffrrrh State fitsiituitoit fax % §Im&,

AT BATAYIA,

SEPTEMBER 6, 1866.

SAMUEL G. HOWE,

BOSTON:

WALKER, FULLER & COMPANY
1866.

Wright & Potter, Prs., 4 Spring Lane.

ADDRESS.

My Friends and Fellow- Citizens : —

The ceremony which brings ns together is an
uncommon one, and it suggests an uncommon train
of thought.

Those in whose behalf an institution is to be
established here, are blind; and we are naturally
led to consider how the infirmity of blindness affects
the mental condition, and the moral and social
relations of men.

That which distinguishes humanity — which lifts
man above all created earthly beings, and to a rank
a little lower than the angels, is the mind, or soul,
with its powers of outlook and self-inspection.
But mind, or soul, or spirit — call it as we may —
would be powerless and worthless in this state of
being without language.

Language is to the mind more even than the
right hand is to the body. Without language, we
can have no knowledge of each other, save such as
the brutes have; no society except gregariousness ;
no affections, save those growing out of animal
instinct. If language were abolished, and men

made dumb, the course of civilization would not
only be arrested, but rolled backward; and, in a
few generations, there would remain only tribes of
wild men, battling among the ruins of cities and
villages, with each other and with the brutes, for
mere animal existence.

Language is not the mere servant of the mind,
the vehicle of thought, but it is the instrument of
our moral emotions, of our social affections ; of all
friendship, of all love. That love which is awak-
ened through the sight, passes away with the decay
of the beauty which is seen. But the love which
is awakened by spiritual intercourse, lasts not only
while life lasts, but survives the death of the loved
object ; and endures while memory endures.

Language, then, is the bond of union, of affec-
tion, and of interest, among individual men and
women, — for their intercourse is mainly by speech,
audible or written.

But language is of vast extent, and speech is
only one of its powers. By speech and by print,
men of our generation hold intercourse with each
other. There are, moreover, some sorts of language
by which the generations of men hold intercourse
with other generations, and by which they converse
across centuries and cycles of time. Among the
various forms of language between the generations,
and between the ages, monuments hold a high
place.

As men and women unwittingly, and sometimes
unwillingly, reveal their character, and even their
secret motives of action, by the sort of language
which they use, so the generations unwittingly

reveal the prevailing* ideas of the men who lived in
them, by the works which they leave behind them.
Consider the Pyramids of Egypt, and read the
speech which they utter. Study not their hiero-
glyphics, nor believe their inscriptions, for the phrase
" to lie like a tombstone," was probably as good in
the great Necropolis of Egypt as it is in a modern
graveyard; but consider what the huge structures
themselves tell us of the generations which built
them! What say the ten million cubic feet of solid
masonry, enclosing two or three small chambers,
whose entrances are so narrow that the enclosed sar-
cophagus must have been placed therein before the
walls were built; and those entrances afterwards
closed up by huge blocks of stone, too heavy to be
moved by any common force? What does all this
tell? What is the language of that generation,
spoken by the tongue of the pyramids to this gen-
eration?

It is, that the "monarchs were absolute, selfish,
cruel and short-sighted. That they built these vast
monuments to preserve their fame from oblivion,
and their bodies from disturbance. Vain hope !
Their very names are forgotten, and

" Not a pinch of dust remains of Cheops !"

The monuments tell us, moreover, that the people
must have been ignorant, oppressed, and like
" dumb, driven cattle."

They tell us, that great multitudes of men and
women were driven in from towns and villages, to
toil and moil, and lift stones and carry sand for
weeks and months; and when some had died and

all were exhausted, then that fresh gangs were
driven in to take their places.

And so of smaller monuments, whether the tri-
umphal arch, where the chained captive walks
sadly behind the sculptured conquerors; or the
storied column, with its winding procession of bat-
tles, assaults and sieges, leading up to the proud
victor standing self-glorified on the top.

And so of those which tell a better story — the
aqueducts, the fountains, the bridges, the canals, the
docks and the like. If we study the monuments
which a generation built, and the kind of men in
whose honor they raised statues, we may learn
much of the character of the people themselves.

You are assembled to lay the foundations of a
monument which will speak to future generations;
and although what you grave upon the corner-stone,
and what you put within it, should never be seen,
the monument itself will talk to future generations;
and what will it tell them?

It will disclose that the physical condition of the
human race in this country was imperfect and
unfavorable, and that there were born to this gener-
ation, and expected to be born in the next, sightless
children, numerous enough to form a persistent
class. That children of this class were not only
loved and cherished by their parents and kindred,
but also cared for by the public. That there was
no Mount Taygetus here, on which to expose them,
with other infirm folk, to perish or be devoured,
but asylums into which they were gathered and
nurtured.

It will prove that the social and political union
which here leagued three million people into one
powerful State, was formed and maintained not
only for defence against enemies, for common com-
mercial interests, for great enterprises, for social
prosperity and enjoyment, nor yet for mental cul-
ture and high civilization of the many, but also for
the protection and care of the weak and infirm.
That the State of New York, which could dig out
a navigable river clear across her broad land, —
which had just armed and sent forth three hundred
thousand sturdy soldiers to serve the common
country and the cause of humanity, — that this
great State, while holding on in her high career of
material prosperity, and providing schools for all
the children, took thought also that not even the
sightless little ones should be neglected.

In such language will the building, whose foun-
dation-stone you this day lay, speak to many gen-
erations in coming time.

But while thus noting with pleasure and even
excusable pride, the humane impulses which prompt
and which will carry forward the Avork, pardon me
if I utter a word of warning.

Good .intentions, and kind impulses, do not
necessarily lead to wise and truly humane measures.

Nowhere is wisdom more necessary than in the
guidance of charitable impulses. Meaning well is
only half our duty; thinking right is the other and
equally important half.

Every one of you has probably learned by
experience, that he may by alms or unwise aid

increase the very suffering which he sought to
relieve.

How many times have you given for the mere
luxury of giving? It is not only more blessed to
give than to receive, but also more pleasant. Take
an extreme case, and consider how many children
are positively harmed b}r having too much done
for them; and especially by having gifts showered
too profusely upon them.

~No people are more eager and successful than
ours in pursuit of gain; but none so profuse in
scattering it. We have a passion for giving gifts,
especially to children. This passion waxes strong
at particular seasons, the return of which is calcu-
lated upon by the cunning urchins, as the farmer
calculates upon the early and the latter rain.

They consult the almanac which says of holi-
days, Look out for presents in drops ; of birthdays,
for abundance of gifts; and once in the year for
the great hail storm lasting from Christmas to ]STeAV
Year. Parents, then, as if half ashamed of their
weakness, resort to the pleasant myth of Santa
Claus, who pelts the eager urchins with all sorts of
missiles, from sugar plums up to images of every
sort of beast and bird that came out of Noah's ark ;
and many beside whose strange appearance would
excite wonder and admiration in any modern
museum or menagerie; for they are unlike any-
thing in the heaven above, on the earth beneath,
or the waters under the earth.

The wit of men and women is then taxed to invent
new toys, and new ornaments; and many arts and
trades are plied diligently for months before the

holidays, to supply the demand for gifts. Mean-
time children are all on tip-toe of hope and
expectation; and as the time approaches they can
hardly think hy day of anything but presents, or
sleep at night without dreaming that Santa Claus
is at hand. And when the day arrives, what
multitude and what variety of gifts, from father,
mother, brother, sister, aunt, uncle and cousin — by
blood and by marriage to the third and fourth
degree. Those who have wide family relations get
presents enough to stock a small shop, and set up
in trade.

Christinas to such children is not the day when
the most inspired Son of God was born into the
world to reveal his Father's love, and develop the
divine capacity inherent in his human brethren,
but the day when Santa Claus comes down the
chimney to bring a new dispensation of toys and
sugar plums.

To older children it is a day for receiving choicer
gifts, of greater value every year.

Thus to the young the blessed anniversary is
stripped of its most endearing associations and
clad with others unfavorable in their nature. Love
and affection do indeed crave to speak in language
of tokens -and gifts; and there is so much that is
beautiful even in our Christinas festival, that rather
than lose it, we would cling to all the extrava-
gances, all the pranks and humors, and hold Santa
Claus among our household gods. But may we
not retain all that is graceful and good without
the evil?

Be that as it may, I mention Christmas not to
detract from its merits, bnt only to illustrate my
meaning in speaking of gifts and undue attentions
to blind children. To those born of wealthy
parents, Santa Claus instead of a yearly visitor is
a common carrier; and the class generally suffer
rather from excess of sympathy than from lack of
it; more from what is done for them, than from
what is left undone; more from attentions than
from neglect.

Better a bruise or a bump than not make their
own way about. If an ordinary child falls over an
object, you cry r' Jump up and try another! " You
should cry that to the blind. But no; those dear
children must learn no hard lesson through suffering.
Every obstacle must be removed from their way,
which must be carpeted with velvet; and they must
be cautioned against danger, instead of being
encouraged to meet it. They are helped to do
what they should learn to do alone; kept at home
when they should be urged abroad; seated in the
rocking-chair when they should be tumbling about
house and grounds ; helped and waited upon when
they should be held to help and wait upon their
elders; spared when they should be urged; ener-
vated where they should be hardened, -and often
demoralized by the habit of receiving as gifts what
they should earn by hard effort, or resolutely
forego.

For one blind child who is properly trained to
consider the dangers, difficulties, and obstacles
arising from his condition, as things to be met and
overcome, by sharpened senses, by hard study, or

hard effort, by muscular strength and activity, by
courage and presence of mind, by self-confidence
and resolution — for one trained up in this spirit, a
score are enervated and emasculated for life by
excess of sympathy and unwise help during
childhood.

It frequently happens that parents refuse to send
a blind child to school or to an Institution until
the best years for study are passed, simply from
excess of affection and anxiety for its safety. The
other children may wander abroad to gather cour-
age and strength from facing dangers and over-
coming difficulties ; but this dear pet, who has the
sorest need of all to be trained to hardy self-reli-
ance; who should become strong in limb, and
supple in joint; who should be a good gymnast,
and climb, and jump, and lift weights, and swim
and row ; who should saw and pile wood, and feed
cattle, and be put to every possible kind of work
about the house and farm, that he may become
healthy in body and resolute in purpose, the
better to face and travel his stony road, — he must be
wrapped in flannel, and kept in the rocking chair,
to grow up pale and flabby, and awkward, and
timid, because his mother " loved him, not wisely
but too well."

As it is with individuals, so it is with communi-
ties ; because society moved by pity for some
special form of suffering, hastens to build up estab-
lishments which sometimes increase the very evil
which it wishes to lessen.

There are several such already in this country;
and unless we take heed there will be many more.

Our people have rather a passion for public institu-
tions, and when their attention is attracted to any
suffering class, they make haste to organize one for
its benefit.

But instead of first carefully inquiring whether
an institution is absolutely necessary, that is
whether there is no more natural and effectual man-
ner of relieving the class; and afterwards, taking
care that no vicious principle be incorporated into
the establishment; they hastily build a great showy
building, and gather within its walls a crowd of
person of like condition or infirmity ; and organize
a community where everything goes by clock-work
and steam. If there be a vicious principle in the
organization, as of closely associating persons who
ought to live apart, it is forgotten in admiration of
contrivances for making steam do what once was
done by the good housewife, with her cook and
maid; and of the big bright coppers, the garish walls,
and the white floors.

But no steam power, nor human power can long
keep a vicious principle from cropping out. It has
done so in many European institutions of charity;
it will do so in many of ours.

Let me cite one in Rome, a city boastful of the
number and extent of its charitable institutions.

There stands, in one of the retired streets, dimly
lighted by night, the great Foundling Hospital,
as it is called. Though really it is a sort of free
nursery.

In the outer wall there is a niche sheltered from
the weather. At the back of the niche is a small
door opening into the hospital. Then there is a

. crane which swings out and in, and to this crane is
attached a nice warm cradle, near by which hangs
a bell. When a woman wishes to get rid of her
infant, she goes by night and lays it in the cradle,
pulls the bell and runs away. Or if she fears to
make any signal, she is sure that when the babe
awakes and cries, it will arouse the watch ; that the
cradle will be swung into the wall, and her aband-
oned little one be fed, and clad, and cared for.

The impulse which prompted such an institution,
and such a practice, was beautiful and good. Some
kind heart had been moved by hearing of little
innocents left to suffer cold and hunger in the open
streets, and pity rather than wisdom prompted the
building of a foundling hospital. But it is more than
probable, that for one child saved from death, a score
are abandoned by mothers who would have taken
care of them had they not be tempted by the facili-
ties held out by the hospital, for getting rid of them
with safety to the infants and to themselves. It
thus tends to encourage vice, and to act as a
premium upon crime.

]STo class has suffered so much from this lack of
wisdom in the guidance of charitable emotions, as
the blind have suffered, and do suffer. And this is
easily understood. Of all bodily defects or infirm-
ities, blindness is the one which seems the most
dreadful. "We feel and comprehend at once the
severity of the privation; and we imagine that it
entails a great deal more suffering and unhappiness
than it really does. The sight of a blind man, and
still more of a blind child, touches every heart, and
appeals forcibly for sympathy and aid.

This sympathy and pity prompt us at once to
some outward action; they are too strong for our
control. "We must do something, and not knowing
well what to do, — not understanding what the
sufferers really need — we put our hands in our
pockets, and give money.

Thence it is that in all countries and all ages, '
before and since

" Blind Bartimeus at the gate
Of Jericho in darkness sate,"

the blind man has been considered as the object
for alms-giving. The very thought of blindness,
suggests a sightless man, standing by the way-side
holding out his hat for alms.

So universal is this, that blindness and begging
seem to some as synonymous.

Indeed, afterpolice regulations become established,
and vagrancy is punished, and begging is forbidden,
and the streets are cleared of mendicants; still the
blind man keeps his old stand at the corner, and
holds out his hat. K~o policeman is so hard-hearted
as to disturb him; and he is allowed by general
consent to remain at his post, where he often gathers
more money than the laborers can earn by their
work.

In Italy they make every bridge a " Bridge of
Sighs;" the}' stand at the city gates, and at the
street crossings; or sit in their reserved seats on
the steps of churches ; and detecting with quick ear
every approaching footstep, raise a plaintive clamor,
which is changed to blessings if an alms is dropped,
but sometimes to muttered curses if it is withheld.

Such is the general treatment which the blind as
a class have received from the public in all countries.
That treatment shows the existence of tender and
charitable feelings the world over. But it shows,
also, that those feelings, if unguided by reason, may
do as much harm as good, if not more. With all
their pity and their sympathy, people have failed to
give the blind man what he most needs, and have
unwittingly put obstacles in the way of his ever
getting it.

Nor have governments been much wiser. Some
of the old establishments for the blind are merely
asylums, which have become centres of idleness and
vice. The larger they are the worse they become.
Witness the great Lazar House for the blind at
]STaples ; and the " Quinze Yingts " or Asylum for
fifteen score of blind men at Paris. The lives led
there are not a whit better than that of the spec-
tacled blind musicians in the Caffe des Aveugles,
whose deplorable condition attracted the attention
of the Abbe Haiiy, and led to the formation of the
first school for the blind.

Even the modern institutions of Europe and
America, greatly superior as they are, in most
respects, to the old ones, and admirable as most of
them are, still savor too much of being merely chari-
table. They are organized too much like almshouses ;
and administered in such wise as to tend strongly to
the formation of life asylums, disguised under other
names.

One of the present difficulties is to correct the
prevailing notion about the real condition and wants
of the blind. People suppose that blindness implies

not only dependence bnt nnhappiness. That the
blind are necessarily helpless, and therefore must
always have direct aid if not support; and that even
if educated they must still be objects of charity.
Probably the popular notion about the institution
whose corner-stone you to-day lay is, that of an
asylum for blind children, in which they may remain
for life.

Let me strive to correct some of these notions;
and to explain the nature and effects of the infirmity
of blindness.

I said, it seems to be the most dreadful one to
which men are liable ; but it only seems so to those
who do not reflect.

Sore as is the affliction, there are sorer ones,
which men can and do bear patiently, and even
cheerfully. Should I ask whether you would rather
be blind or deaf, most would exclaim, O, deaf, by
all means. And so once should I have done ; but
not now. On the contrary, I hold that, to a person
not obliged to struggle hard for a livelihood, blind-
ness would be a lighter calamity than deafness, —
I mean congenital blindness.

!N"ay, even with the superior advantage for man-
ual work which a deaf mute has, I should prefer
that a child of mine be blind rather than deaf.

This may seem strange; but call to mind the
blind persons and the deaf persons whom you have
known, and I think you will find that most of the
former have been not only resigned, but social and
cheerful, while the latter are, for the most part,
unsocial and unhappy.

Light is beautiful; but is darkness dreadful?
Kone of you can see in the dark; but do you
expeet to be unhappy to-night, even though kero-
sene and candles fail?

A great poet, relating his horrid dream of uni-
versal darkness, when

" the bright sun was extinguished,

And the stars did wander through the eternal space

Eayless and pathless ; and the icy earth

Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air,"

shows that all the dreadful effects came not from
lack of light, but lack of heat; and that upon the
brow of. the last man, not darkness, but " famine,
had written, fiend! "

But the darkness of which we are thinking
implies no lack of warmth, and it affects not
society. Our dream is of the effect upon ourselves
alone, all others being in the bright sunlight.

Imagine yourselves, then, sitting at twilight with
your children, your family, and your friends gath-
ered about you; and the light fading until you can-
not see each others' faces. You are then blind, but
are you unhappy until the candles are lighted? On
the contrary, do you not sit and enjoy each others'
society, and talk, and laugh, as much as before.

But suppose you are all struck dumb, even
before the light fades away, and you can have no
more free exchange of thought, no more words of
endearment and affection, no more stories and jokes,
no more laughter and song, but instead thereof a
dread stillness, which not even a cannon nor a
thunder-clap could break; where, then, is your
society ?

Again, imagine a man possessed of all the com-
forts and refinements of outward life ; with a culti-
vated mind and literary tastes ; with a warm heart
and pure affections; and who is blessed with de-
serving objects of his love; suppose such a man to
be making merry with his relations and friends, and
playing blind-man's buff with his children; — »while
he is blindfolded is he not as merry as ever? Does
he not love the little ones whom he catches in his
arms as well as though he could see them?

ISTow, suppose that he should find he could not
remove the bandage for a day, a week, or a year.
He would then be, for the time, a blind man. But
in what would he have changed? "What would he
have lost? "What great source of happiness would
have been dried up in his bosom?

He soon learns to go about his house alone, and
about the neighborhood, with a guide. He finds
that he can attend to any ordinary business, if he
chooses to do so. The world and its affairs, his
friends and their welfare, have lost none of their
interest for him. His home becomes doubly
dear to him, and there he finds sources of pleasure
which increase as they are drawn upon. In his
library he finds no essential change, because poetry,
philosophy and history lose no charms by being
borne to his mind on the voice of affection; and
custom soon gives to the habit of dictating all the
pleasure there was in writing. Conversation, by
which we learn more and improve more than by
any and all modes of communing with other minds,
becomes to him the means of new pleasure and
profit.

But it is mostly in the greater development of
his affections, and the exercise of them, that he
finds compensations which he could not have hoped
for. His home is not long dark because the rays
of the sun are shut out, but, like the fabled cavern,
it glows with the light of the gems which adorn, it.
The love and loyalty of his wife, the affection of
his children, the tender regard and tried fidelity of
his friends, — these jewels of the heart shine
brighter for the darkness around him, and he feels
that he would not lose one of them, even to recover
his lost sight. .

Indulgence in the exercise of disinterested affec-
tions and of love, is the only harmless intemper-
ance; and the blind man intoxicates himself there-
with by daily draughts.

This is not mere theory; experience shows that
persons who become blind often grow more amiable,
contented, and even cheerful than before.

There are exceptions of course, and it is unfortu-
nate that Milton should have been one of them, —
because his eminence as a poet and scholar makes
his example conspicuous ; and his words to be taken
as the natural language of a class of unfortunates.

But Milton, austere and melancholy by tempera-
ment, saddened by blight of his generous and patri-
otic hopes, and embittered by his domestic troubles,
was already under the cloud before darkness closed
around him; and he would, doubtless, have sang
sadly the rest of his life, had he not " sang darkly."

At any rate, he did not bear his misfortune as
bravely as some have done. He should not, in this
respect, be held up as an exemplar for the blind;

nor should his plaintive utterances, musical as they
are, be quoted as depicting faithfully their mental
condition.

There have been other blind men more admirable
in this respect, for they set forth in their lives and
conversation the sublime moral height to which
men may attain by grappling courageously the
nettle misfortune, and "plucking thence the flower,"
happiness.

If it were a simple question between the sacrifice
of sight or hearing, no one who duly weighs their
comparative value to his higher nature, and their
importance as ministers of the mind and soul, would
hesitate about which would be the greatest loss to
him. He who prefers the body and its pleasures — the
outer world and its beauties — would choose deaf-
ness ; but he who prefers the mind and its culture,
the affections and their enjoyment, would choose
blindness. This preference of hearing, however,
would be given only by persons of a certain mental
culture, and, [in the present state of society,] of
moderate competence; because, to the man obliged
to labor for a livelihood, especially if others are
dependent upon him, blindness becomes a more
serious calamity.

The eye ministers most to the body, its wants,
and its pleasures; the ear to the mind, its capacities
and its affections. The choice which would be made
between them, were one forced to the dreadful
alternative of the loss of either, would be in some
measure a test of the extent to which the spirit of
Christianity had pervaded the community in which
lie lives.

If society practically recognizes the right of
everyone to a share of labor and of its profits- if
its spirit is that of human brotherhood; of mutual
co-operation, aid and aSsistance,-then a man would
choose the lesser evil,-that which affects mostly
the body, and impairs not the higher nature: he
would prefer to be blind. If, on the contrary the
spirit of the society in which he lives is that of sel-
fish competition and antagonism; if the man has
himself and hm family to support, and if he must
stand or fall solely by his own strength or weak-
ness,-^ brotherhood means only kith and kin -
then he might accept the other evil, for that would
apparently leave a better chance of earning his
living-. »

But if you look a little closer into the matter,
you will see good reason for considering blindness
less dreadful than deafness-especially for children
who are yet to get their educatioii-that is, to have
their mind and character developed. For all
sensuous relations; for all outward, material, and
mechanical purposes, sight is of the first import-
ance; but for all mental, moral, and spiritual rela-
tions, the hearing is the queen of the senses. And
this is because the one indispensable instrument for
mental development is speech. Not language, in its
general sense, which comprehends signs and panto-
mime, and which may be mastered by deaf mutes,
but speech proper, which no deaf mute can ever
acquire in any high degree of perfection. It is this
which gives to the blind child such an immense
advantage over the deaf child. He can be educated

just as we were educated, — just as the boys and
girls who are growing up around him are educated.

Bear with me if I go a little into the dry philoso-
phy of this subject.

Education is carried on mainly by means of lan-
guage ; but by all sorts of language, looks, gestures,
actions and the like ; while instruction is given
chiefly through one sort of language, — speech, — that
is, audible sounds, or spoken words, which are arbi-
trary signs of thought; and written words, which
are arbitrary signs of audible sounds. Children
therefore, in order to be instructed, must first learn
these arbitrary audible sounds, or words.

But although the sounds or the words, which we
adopt as the signs of our thoughts, are purely arbi-
trary, and we select one to express our thought, for
example of a fruit, and say apple, while a Frenchman
selects another sound and says pomme, still, speech
itself is not arbitrary, but natural; that is, man does
not select audible sounds from among the possible
modes of expressing his thoughts, and make that
the base of his language, but that mode is the one
special mode suggested by his very nature. Some
writers on deaf-mute instruction seem to overlook
this psychological difference, and suppose that a
language of visible signs may be a perfect substitute
for one of vocal sounds. Not so. Speech is not an
accidental attribute of humanity, but an essential one.
It inheres in man as man. It is not a human inven-
tion, it is a natural outgrowth. Men speak because
they cannot help it. There is indeed a natural
disposition to attach some supplementary signs to
thought, as movement of feature and limb, or panto-

mime ; and these prevail among tribes and nations
whose language is limited, but these are only adjuncts.
Speech is the natural, therefore the best mode of
expressing human thought; nay! it is the only one
by which there can be full freedom for the develop-
ment of the intellectual and moral nature. Audible
speech is immeasurably superior to any other mode
of expression, as an instrument of human education
and of instruction. No language of visible signs
can ever approach in thoroughness and excellence,
the language of audible words. As people advance
in civilization they improve this language, and come
to rely upon it entirely. They reject the adjuncts
— the visible signs; they do not need to eke out
their meaning by gestures; and they come to
express every possible condition of things, and every
phase of thought by a system of vocal sounds,
which becomes their vernacular. Each generation
of children catches the sounds or words, and almost
without effort learns the language of the country;
good, bad, or indifferent, — oaths and all.

But, in every generation there are a certain
number, who, being born deaf, do not hear these
sounds ; and therefore cannot imitate them. They
have, however, the common human disposition and
desire to express emotion and thought by some out-
ward signs; and the natural tendency to use vocal
speech as the readiest sign, prompts them to attempt
vocal utterance. As however, they cannot hear the
words which they utter, they fail to make them uni-
form, and intelligible to others. They cannot mod-
ulate the voice and speak distinctly; and after painful
efforts they give up in despair and remain dumb.

24:

Still, the desire to express feelings and thoughts by
signs and so to commune with others, remains strong
within them ; and though they give up attempts to
use the highest forms of language, they persist in
the use of the lower form of visible signs.

They perceive that persons who speak do not
confine themselves to making audible sounds, but
use certain adjuncts of speech or interpretations of
emotions, such as expressions of face and feature,
gestures, and signs of various kinds. These are
usually called natural signs, or natural language,
though strictly speaking they are no more natural
than are audible sounds. But these are the only
parts of language which deaf children can seize
upon, and they come to rely upon them alone.

They watch eagerly the play of the features, the
expression of the countenance, and the gestures of
the speaker, and imitate them. They invent other
signs of their own, they multiply them, they empha-
size them by earnest looks, and by eager gestures ;
and so form a language, which however is only rudi-
mentary and imperfect. But besides its imperfec-
tions, this language cannot become common even
among mutes, because no two adopt the same signs.

There is a certain resemblance, indeed, because
they do for the most part seize upon some supposed
analogy, and make a sign resembling the thing
thought of : as whirling the hand for the motion of
a wheel. This answers to a certain extent for thinjrs
in the concrete ; but when it comes to abstract mat-
ters they are lost. One selects one sign, another
another; and of course they cannot form a common
language. But this is not the worst of it. Men may

doubtless have cognizance of facts and phenom-
ena; as fire and ice and recall them to memory
without attaching names thereto. Bnt it is hardly
conceivable that they should go farther, and form
abstract ideas as of heat and cold, without names.
Definite thought suggests a name, as substance
causes shadow. At any rate, there can be no great
mental development, and no high culture, without
signs, and even very definite signs, for the thoughts;
and there can be no precise, minute, and definite
signs, except speech, oral or written. Indeed, they
are necessary for the simple process of recollection;
because the ideas which we have formed from
impressions upon the senses, if without signs
attached to them, would be like a pile of books
without labels or title pages. Language is to
thought, what the trellis is to the vine.

This it is which gives to the blind child such meas-
ureless advantage over the deaf child in acquiring
knowledge. The first at eight years old comes to
school fully armed with the great instruments of
thought and study. You need waste no time in
establishing means of communication between your
mind and his; but the mute cannot understand
a single word that you say. He has indeed a certain
rude language of signs and gestures, to make known
certain emotions and desires; but he has no sign
for a word, and therefore no means of expressing
definite thought.

You must teach him, by a slow and tedious pro-
cess, that besides the sign' which he has adopted
for a horse, or 'a house, there is another visible sign;
and you draw a house or a horse upon a blackboard.

This sign is founded on the likeness between the
house or horse, and the picture of it. This you
would do with any deaf-mute child, of whatever
country; and all would understand it. Then you
go farther, and make certain arbitrary marks, which
to him are new and strange. Under the picture of
the animal, you make five marks, which you call
letters — h-o-r-s-e; then under the picture of the
building you make other five — h-o-u-s-e. You
have then to repeat the process over and over again,
until the sight of those letters, arranged in that
particular order, suggests to him the idea of the
thing which you have in your mind.

I do not mean to say that this is the approved
method used in the schools for mutes, but one
which any person, not an expert, might adopt.

Let me illustrate this by the method which I
devised to teach letters to Laura Bridgman, who
was not only quite deaf, but quite blind, and almost
devoid of the sense of smell, which is usually much
relied upon by persons in her sad condition. I
began with single short words, as pin and pen.
I took, some embossed letters, such as the blind use,
and placing three of them, p-e-n, on the table
beside a pen, made her feel them over and over
again, until they became associated in her mind
with the pen. Then I introduced a fourth letter, i,
and put together p-i-n, and placed these beside a
pin. These were felt of over and over and over
again, until the three signs, placed in that order,
became associated with a pin ; so that when she felt
them so placed on the page of a book, the thought
of a pin came up in her mind. And so on, intro-

during new letters, placing them in new combina-
tions. Slowly and gradually she went on, mastering
new signs or letters until she had learned twenty-
six, when she began to perceive that there were no
more new ones, but only new combinations of the
familiar ones. Then I took a label, as s-p-o-o-n,
and pasted it on a spoon, and made her feel them
over again and again and again; and so with other
things. You see that as soon as she got hold of the
thread, as soon as she found that by putting
together certain letters in certain combinations, she
could make me understand what things she had in
her mind, and as soon as she had learned twenty-six
of these, she was mistress of the alphabet, or elements
of arbitrary language, and had only to go on and
learn to spell the names of all the things she could
reach. This she was so eager to do, that thence-
forward one could not satisfy her.

But these bits of embossed paper were most
inconvenient and unsatisfactory; and so I began
by doubling one fist and putting my fingers in a
certain position, and placing the hand so closed
beside the letter p, and repeating it so often that she
associated in her mind that position of fingers with
the letter p. Then I took the same course with
another letter which she had learned; and so on
through twenty-six letters, irrespective of their
alphabetical order, until she came to understand
that by a certain position of the fingers she would
make three signs, p-i-n, which would signify a pin,
just as did the three bits of embossed paper. Thus
she was equipped with a better instrument of inter-

course; a swifter telegraph from her mind out to
ours, which was always at her fingers' end.

This is said in a few minutes; but the process
was so slow, so long-protracted, that it would have
been wearisome indeed but for the object in view,
which was to lead her out of her inward darkness
into our blessed light.

It is easy to show the process by which she
learned nouns, or names of all sensible objects, bat
it would take me too long to show the process by
which she passed to a knowledge of words express-
ing relations, and of qualities.

The first step of the transition is easy ; for you
perceive that there are certain qualities which she
could understand, as sweetness in an apple, and
by analogy sweetness in temper. She did finally
master the names of qualities, and of purely abstract
ideas, so that she could read and write and con-
verse, and thus became an intelligent, responsible
moral agent, and a happy and useful member of
human society, loving many, and beloved of many.

The thing which prompted me to aid her in her
first efforts to get out of her dark and silent
isolation, and which made me sure of success in
my simple method, was the conviction that, though
hardly having more intelligence than a dog, she
showed the common human desire and caj:>acity to
associate names Avith things, and thoughts of things.
She took hold of the thread by which I would lead
her out, because she had all the special attributes
of a human soul.

INo created being devoid of these attributes could
do it. Try ye, who believe that an ape or a chim-

panzee differs only a degree from man ! and though
the pupil may have the aid of fine sharp senses, and
the help of an academy of philosophers, not even
the threshold will be passed; while this child who
could not see even a flash of lightning, or hear a
crash of thunder, — who had, indeed, but one perfect
sense, — went on by aid of that alone until she
acquired language; could converse freely and rap-
idly; could read embossed books and write legible
letters; and finally came into sympathetic and affec-
tionate relations with her family and friends; and
felt that even her poor life was a precious boon for
which she was grateful to its Great Giver, whom
she learned to know as her God and Father.

This was very long ago, and I may not have
related, in this hasty sketch, the exact order of the
different stages of instruction. But you will allow
me to quote from an account which I printed con-
cerning the application of this method to another
child, a boy of twelve, blind and deaf and dumb.
The record states that before entering school, —

" He was fond of teasing cats, and generally inclined to
fun. He could make many of his wants understood by
signs. He was, however, ungovernable, and when thwarted
in any way, he became very violent, braying, striking and
kicking furiously.

" His signs were expressive, and the strictly natural
language, laughing, crying, sighing, kissing, embracing, etc.,
was perfect. Some of the analogical signs which (guided by
his faculty of imitation,) he had contrived, were compre-
hensible, such as the waving motion of his hand for the
motion of a boat, the circular one for a wheel, etc. The first
object was to break up the use of these signs, and to substitute
therefor the use of purely arbitrary ones.

" Profiting by the experience I had gained in the other
cases, I omitted several steps of the process before employed,
and commenced at once with the finger language. Taking,
therefore, several articles having short names, such as key,
cup, mug, <fec, and with Laura for an auxiliary, I sat clown,
and taking his hand, placed it upon one of them, and then
with my own made the letters, k-e-y. He felt eagerly of
my hands with both of his, and on my repeating the process,
he evidently tried to imitate the motions of my fingers. In
a few minutes he contrived to feci the motions of my fingers
with one hand, and holding out the other, he tried to imitate
them, laughing most heartily when he succeeded. Laura was
by, interested even to agitation, and the two presented a sin-
gular sight ; her face was flushed and anxious, and her fingers
twined in among ours so closely as to follow every motion,
but so lightly as not to embarrass them ; while Oliver stood
attentive, his head a little aside, his face turned up, his left
hand grasping mine, and his right held out ; at every motion
of my fingers his countenance betokened keen attention.
There was an expression of anxiety as he tried to imitate the
motions — then a smile came stealing out as he thought he
could do so, and spread into a joyous laugh the moment he
succeeded, and felt me pat his head, and Laura clap him
heartily upon the back, and jump up and down in her joy.

" He learned more than a half dozen letters in half an
hour, and seemed delighted with his success, at least in gain-
ing approbation. His attention then began to flag, and I
commenced playing with him. It was evident that in all this
he had merely been imitating the motions of my fingers,
and placing his hand upon the key, cup, &c, as part of the
process, without any perception of the relation between the
sign and the object.

" When he was tired with play I took him back to the
table, and he was quite ready to begin again his process of
imitation. He soon learned to make the letters for key, pen,
pin; and by having the object repeatedly placed in his hand,
he at last perceived the relation I wished to establish between

them. This was evident, because when I made the letters,
p-i-n, or p-e-n, or c-u-p, he would select the article.

" The perception of this relation was not accompanied by
that radiant flash of intelligence and that glow of joy which
marked the delightful moment when Laura first perceived it.
I then placed all the articles on the table, and going away a
little distance with the children, placed Oliver's fingers in the
positions to spell key, on which Laura went and brought the
article ; the little fellow seemed to be much amused at this,
and looked very attentive and smiling. I then caused him
to make the letters, b-r-e-a-d, and in an instant Laura went
and brought him a piece ; he smelled at it, put it to his lips,
cocked up his head with a most knowing look, seemed to
reflect a moment, and then laughed outright, as much as to
say — ' Aha ! I understand now how something may be made
out of this ! ' "

But, to return to the mute who is simply deaf. He
has, of course, great advantage over poor Laura;
but you can see how slow and tedious even with
him, this process must be; unless, however, you
have some experience in such work, you cannot
understand fully its difficulties and imperfection.

In this slow and hard work the deaf-mute child
must spend months and years. At the end of five
to eight years, when he is fifteen or sixteen years
old, he gets in respect to a knowledge of language
about where your ordinary children, and even blind
children were, at six or seven years old. With
the blind child you need not waste a day in teaching
language, that is, in giving him command of the
instrument of thought, or in providing him with
tools for work, while with the poor mute that task
must occupy most of your time and efforts.

An eminent teacher of deaf-mutes. Rev. Collins
Stone, Principal of the Hartford Asylum, says:
" The effort upon which our labor is chiefly expended
in the education of the deaf and dumb, is to teach
them to use the English language with ease and
accuracy. The deaf-mute is shut up to his sad
heritage of ignorance and darkness, simply because
his peculiar misfortune deprives him of all knowl-
edge of written or spoken language." " It leaves
him without a medium of communication with
others, and seals up from his use the treasures of
wisdom contained in books. To teach him the lan-
guage of the community in which he lives is indis-
pensably necessary, if we would bring him material
relief, or break the power of the spell that weighs
him down."

But after all; after the mute has spent most
of his youth in learning our language, he suc-
ceeds very imperfectly, and he goes through life
without mastering it thoroughly. Many of you,
doubtless, are acquainted with some educated mute,
and have, probably, tried to converse with him,
either by the finger language or by writing, and
you know how very unsatisfactory it is, and how
limited is his knowledge of our language. Only
the most expert of them can seize upon its nicest
parts ; and its delicate shades escape them altogether.
For instance, they cannot enjoy a pun, or what we
call play upon words; and much of the charm of
style, and the beauty of poetry, are lost to them.

No deaf-mute becomes a learned man, that is, one
who would be considered learned among scholars.
Blindness sets no such limits to the range of culture

and of scholarship. Men born blind have become
eminent as scholars, as poets, as linguists, lec-
turers, preachers, and even as philosophers; to say
nothing of music, in which some have been brilliant
composers. The successor of Sir Isaac Newton, in
the university chair of philosophy, was a blind man,
and lectured with ability and success upon mathe-
matics.

Thus the darkness in which the blind dwell does
not prevent them from attaining the highest forms
of language, and the fullest development of the
social and moral nature; but the silence in which
the mutes dwell does prevent them. They, alas!
cannot have through childhood, and youth, manhood,
and age, that free, constant and intimate social inter-
course, which is necessary for the highest develop-
ment, simply because the chief instrument of human
intercourse is language, and that not in its lowest
form, but in the highest and most perfect form, or
speech. Mutes cannot learn the wonderful lan-
guage of society, and society will not stop to learn
their imperfect one; consequently, they grow up
more or less isolated. ]N"ow, isolation is stagnation,
and complete isolation in youth would be fatal to
human development and improvement. Indeed, our
word idiot, you know, is derived from an old word
signifying the purely individual man — devoid of
human relationship.

Mutes may be rescued from entire isolation by
the special and difficult instruction given them in
our public institutions, which is indeed a noble and
blessed work, for although it cannot counteract
entirely the effects of their infirmity, it brings them

into near and dear relationship with society, by
which they should be cherished as childlike and
beloved members.

I have said nothing of the vast field of poetry
and imagination which is opened to man by the
study of music,

" Untwisting all the chains which tie
The hidden soul of harmony,"

because I am unequal to the task. But you will
easily see how many considerations, drawn from
that source might be added to those which I have
given, to show the great superiority of hearing over
sight as a means of mental and spiritual growth.
Nor does hearing yield to sight the palm of
supremacy even for all our relations with the
material world. Life to be useful, must be safe.
But we walk through the world surrounded with
dangers of various kinds; and the warnings of
these come mainly through the ear. This is,
because during half of the time darkness prevails,
and then the sentinel at the eye is off guard ; but
the one at the ear listens tireless during all the
Avaking hours ; and even when the body sleeps it is
still half awake, for the ear shuts no lid as the eye
does. Then, again, the eye receives no warning
except when light strikes nearly from the front.
Even with the eyes wide open, one-half the circle
around us is unguarded; while the ear gathers in
sound not only from all around but from above and
below. Unless the rattlesnake be in the direct
path, the eye sees him not; but the ear catches
the first note of warning, come it from whence it

may. Then, again, the thinnest substance may
arrest light; but sound traverses thick walls.
Besides, sight is more voluntary; hearing more
involuntary; indeed, it is almost automatic. You
shut out sight easily, but exclude sound with
difficulty. You may be blind at will; but you can
hardly be deaf even by stopping the ears.

Such are some of the reasons for thinking that
blindness is not so dreadful an infirmity, and does
not entail such serious consequences as deafness;
and to confirm them we have daily evidence that it
does not cause so much unhappiness; indeed, that
a great many sightless persons are social, cheerful
and happy.

Still, the blind, as individuals and as a class, are
sorely afflicted, and need the aid of their fellow-
men; who are all ready to give it, and require only
to know what is the best way.

To find that way requires thought and experi-
ence ; and probably none of us have yet had enough
of them. This much, however, is certain; the aid
should not be given in alms, or in any way that
savors of alms. Were it possible for government
to pension every blind person for life, that would
probably do more harm than good. "We are safe
in saying that as far as possible, they should be
considered and treated just as ordinary persons,
our equals and friends, are treated, and not singled
out as special objects of pity. This is too
often forgotten.

The time is past, with us at least, when blindness
is considered as a special dispensation of Providence
in punishment of a special sin; and yet not long

passed, for the Duke of York rudely asked Milton
if he did not think he had lost sight as a punish-
ment for writing his Eikonoklastes, and otherwise
aiding rebellion against royalty; to which came
the swift and fitting answer, " If so, your highness,
how was it with your father, who lost all his senses
and his head too? "

The blind will always want sympathy, and gen-
erally need aid; but they do not want to be segre-
gated from ordinary society, nor to be considered
as a class apart.

Common politeness, which is only kindness
wisely directed, suggests, that in our intercourse
with a blind man we should never needlessly allude
to his infirmity, but treat him as if he had none.
And common sense suggests that when we would
help him, we should do it as we would help any
other person; by putting him in the way of helping
himself.

Now, as in the treatment of an individual blind
man, so should it be with the treatment of the class.
The State should admit the right of every child,
whether native or foreign, black or white, sound or
infirm, to the benefits of instruction at public
expense. This is the wise policy of some of our
States, where public provision is made for the
gratuitous instruction of all children, by placing
a free school-house within the reach of every
family. As the logical consequences of this policy,
if the mode of instruction in those free schools is
such that any class of children, as the mutes, the
blind, or the feeble-minded, cannot be taught by it,
then special instruction is provided for each class ;

and they are gathered into public institutions, and
maintained as well as taught at public charge.

There are some seventeen institutions of this
kind for the blind in the United States; and they
are generally called charitable; but they ought not
to be so considered any more than are the common
schools. The parent ought perhaps in most cases
to be called upon to pay as much toward the board
of his child as it would cost him at home; but no
more. The instruction, and the other advantages,
are his due; for it is misfortune enough that his
child is blind, without his being put to any more
expense for schooling than his neighbors are for
their children.

If you bear in mind what I said about the evil
effects of alms, and of charitable gifts upon the
blind, you will see the importance of insisting that
blind children shall receive instruction from the
State, not as a matter of charity, but as a matter of
right.

I wish to make use of this opportunity for criti-
cizing those institutions with a view to their
improvement; and this my purpose must be my
apology for alluding to the part which I have had
in their establishment and organization. I not only
organized the first one in the United States, the
main features in the administration of which have
been widely copied, but labored with more zeal
than knowledge to induce people to found others;
and made direct efforts to the legislatures of a
dozen different States to appropriate money for
their support.

I know them, therefore, from their foundation
upward* and as their many merits have been freely
pointed out to you, I will allude to some of their
defects, that you may avoid them in your new
establishment.

I accept my full share of condemnation when I
say that grave errors were incorporated into the
very organic principles of our institutions for the
blind, which make them already too much like asy-
lums; which threaten to cause real asylums to grow
out of them, and to engender other evils. Let me
set forth a little my idea of the general princi-
ples which should underlie all such establishments,
and which have been too much neglected in the
organization of many of our public institutions.

All great establishments in the nature of board-
ing schools, where the sexes must be separated;
where there must be boarding in common, and
sleeping in congregate dormitories; where there
must be routine, and formality, and restraint, and
repression of individuality; where the charms and
refining influences of the true family relation cannot
be had, — all such institutions are unnatural, unde-
sirable, and very liable to abuse. We should have
as few of them as is possible, and those few
should be kept as small as possible.

The human family is the unit of society. The
family, as it was ordained by our Great Father, with
its ties of kith and kin ; with its tender associations
of childhood and youth; with its ties of affection
and of sympathy; with its fireside, its table, and its
domestic altar, — there is the place for the early
education of the child. His instruction may be

had in school; his heart and character should be
developed and moulded at home.

Artificial families have been tried and found
wanting. Communities in imitation of the natural
family, especially those confined to one sex, are
fertile of evil. Witness the old nunneries and mon-
asteries, darkened and saddened by lack of the
sunlight of affection and love ; embittered by petty
passions and strife; soured by crushed hopes and
yearnings; and defiled by unnatural vices. Wit-
ness soldiers in detached garrisons; sailors on long-
voyages; prisoners under long sentences. Wher-
ever there must be separation of the sexes, isola-
tion from society, absence of true family relation,
and monotony of life, there must come evils of
various kinds, which .no watchfulness can prevent,
and no physician can cure.

We should be cautious about establishing such
artificial communities, or those approaching them
in character, for any children and youth ; but more
especially should we avoid them for those who have
any natural infirmity; or any marked peculiarity of
mental organization.

Let me dwell upon this, for in my view, it is
very important. Such persons spring up sporad-
ically in the community, and they should be kept
diffused among sound and normal persons. Sep-
aration, and not congregation, should be the law of
their treatment; for out of their infirmity or abnor-
mality there necessarily grow some abnormal and
undesirable effects, and unless these be counteracted
by education, they disturb the harmonious develop-
ment of character. These effects are best coun-

teracted by bringing up the child among ordinary
children, and subjecting him to ordinary social and
family influences; but, on the contrary, they are
intensified by constant and close association with
children who are marked by the same infirmity or
peculiarity.

This truth cannot be gainsaid; nor should the
effects of it be disregarded because they seem so
slight. As in physics, a force preponderating ever
so slightly over other forces, is sure to prevail; so
it is in morals. We should therefore keep this
truth in mind; and give it due weight when form-
ing plans for the treatment of any special class of
persons.

As much as may be, surround insane and excita-
ble persons with sane people, and ordinary influ-
ences; vicious children with virtuous people and
virtuous influences; blind children with those who
see ; mute children with those who speak ; and the
like.

People run counter to this principle for the
sake of economy in the expenses, and of some
other good end, which they suppose cannot be had
in any other way; as when they congregate the
insane in hospitals, vicious children in reformatories,
criminals in prisons, paupers in almshouses, orphan
children in asylums, blind children and mute chil-
dren in boarding schools. Hence I begin to con-
sider such establishments as evils which must be
borne with, for the time, in order to obviate greater
evils. I would take heed, however, against multi-
plying them unnecessarily. I would keep them as
small as I could. I would take the most stringent

measures for guarding against those undesirable
effects which lessen their usefulness ; and for finally
dispensing with as many of them as may be pos-
sible.

But, besides this general objection to such
establishments, there is another and more practical
objection to the method of congregating for the
purpose of education, any class of young persons
marked by an infirmity like deafness or blindness.
They depend more than ordinary persons do for
their happiness and for their support upon the ties
of kindred, of friendship, and of neighborhood.
All these, therefore, ought to be nourished and
strengthened during childhood and youth — for it is
then, and then only, that they take such deep root
as to become strong, and life-lasting. The home of
the blind and of the mute should be his native town
or village ; there, if possible, he should live during
childhood and youth; there he should form his
friendships; there, if he comes to need special aid it
will be given most readily and fitly; and there his
old age will be most cherished. Beware how you
needlessly sever any of those ties of family, of
friendship, of neighborhood, during the period of
their strongest growth, lest you make a homeless
man, a wanderer and a stranger. Especially beware
how you cause him to neglect forming early rela-
tions of affection with those whose sympathy and
friendship will be most important to him during
life, to wit, those who have all their senses; and
how you restrict him to such relations with persons
subject to an infirmity like his oavii.

I would observe, by the way, that the necessity
now felt for a new institution in your State has
arisen, partly at least, from radical faults in the
organization of the old one, which necessarily led to
faults in its administration, such as I have noticed.
If the conditions of admission had been such as
to exclude some who entered, but who ought not
to have entered; if the term of residence had not
been so long ; if stringent measures had been taken
to prevent the multiplication of graduates in and
about the institution, and to encourage their disper-
sion and settlement in their several towns, instead
of leaving them to congregate in the commercial
capital, and to besiege the political capital ; if these
things had been done, the State would perhaps not
now be called upon to incur the cost of building and
the continual expense of carrying on a second insti-
tution.*

But, it is settled that you are to have one, and, I
trust, it will become worthy of the generous motives
which prompt its creation; and of the great State
which is to build it.

Take heed that it shall be organized on sound
principles; and while copying all the good features
of existing institutions, avoid those which are not
good. Those establishments are all faulty. Not
one of them is worthy to be your model in all
respects; and the persons who flatter themselves that
their favorite one is worthy to be copied exactly, are
blind to faults which can be seen by looking beneath
the surface. Never mind their showy buildings
and special accommodations; you may as well mea-

* See Note A.

sure the morality of a family by the structure and
arrangement of its dwelling-house, as test institu-
tions by their mechanical advantages ; but look at
the principles and system by which they are con-
ducted. You will, then, find that they arc faulty
in many respects.

They are generally wrong in receiving pupils too
indiscriminately ; being, in most cases, tempted to do
so by the fact that they are paid according to the
number they receive. They are wrong in receiving
all pupils as boarders, when they should receive
those only who cannot board at home, or in private
families. They are wrong in associating the blind
too closely, and too many years together; thus
loosening or breaking the ties of family and of
neighborhood, — segregating them from society, —
forming a class apart, — creating a feeling of caste,
— and so intensifying all the unfavorable effects
growing out of the infirmity of blindness. They
necessarily encourage intermarriage of the blind;
and thus increase the chances of infirm progeny.
They attract the blind from the country, and con-
gregate them in the cities. They are creating the
necessity, or the demand, for permanent life asy-
lums; all of which consummations are devoutly to
be prayed against.

Instead, then, of copying the existing institutions,
I think, that in organizing a new one something
like the following rough plan should be adopted : —
If the field were all clear, and no buildings provided,
there should be built only a building for school-
rooms, recitation rooms, music rooms and work-
shops; and these should he in or near the centre of

a dense 'population. For other purposes, ordinary
houses would suffice. But your field is not clear.
Your establishment is located, and your building- is
begun ; the organization, however, is not completed.

And first as to your Superintendent. Let him be
a man who has natural capacity enough for the
enterprise. Give him ample power and abundant
means, and then hold him to give strict account,
and an abundant return of good. But respect his
individuality* and let him do his work in his own
way, and not in yours. Establish the principles,
but leave details and methods of work to him.
Give him full sailing directions, but let him be
absolute captain of the ship.

You will thus avoid what has been one fertile
source of difficulty in our public institutions.

In deciding upon who are to be received as
pupils, you should first ascertain how many of the
applicants are really blind, and then, instead of
imitating the example of ordinary institutions, and
getting as many into the school as possible, you
should receive as few as possible; that is, you
should reject every one who can be taught in
common schools. And here, it should be remarked,
that it is much easier to have children who are
p'artially blind, and even those totally blind,
received and taught in common schools than
it was formerly, because the existence of Insti-
tutions for the Blind during the third of a
century has familiarized people with the fact that
sight is not essential for instruction in the common
branches. A great many persons have become
acquainted with the methods used in the Institu-

tions, and with the use of books in raised letters.
I am constantly applied to by teachers to know how
to proceed with a blind child; and I always encour-
age them to keep it at home, and let it go to the
common school as long as possible.

But suppose that two hundred candidates pre-
sent themselves for your Institution; out of these
it will be found that from ten to twenty per cent,
are what we call " seeing blind."

These have a certain degree of sight, and do not
belong in a school for the blind. If there were no
such school, they would probably attend the
common schools, and learn what they could.

Then there will be some, not quite blind who
might be taught in common schools if special pains
were taken with them, and special encouragement
given. Let this be given in the shape of books,
slates, maps, &c, and even a small weekly stipend,
to be paid on certificate of the teacher, that their
attendance had been regular. But they should not
be admitted as regular pupils of the Institution,
especially if they live near by. It will not be
necessary to receive, as boarders, more than half of
the applicants as pupils. Let those be taken, not
as is usually done for five, or seven years, but on
probation for six, or twelve months. Then sub-
divide these into two classes; those who are to
remain not more than a year, and those who are
to remain as long as may be necessary. Let the
first be taught to read letters in raised print; to
write a little; to use the slate and other apparatus
adapted to the touch; and to become accustomed

to the routine of the instruction and then sent
home to attend the common school.

Let them still be considered as beneficiaries of
the State, and provided at public expense with
books and apparatus, and if they are poor, allowed
a small sum weekly toward their support, the
balance to be paid by their relatives, or by the
town.

After they have been some years in the common
schools, some of them will be old enough to go to
work, and will find employment; others will desire
to return to the Institution, to learn such handicraft
as is suitable for them. Keep them about one year
and then send them home to work at their trades:
and if need be, receive their goods to be sold on
their account at the central depot of the Institution.

Then the select pupils, say fifty in number,
should have every possible advantage and oppor-
tunity for study and improvement. The best mas-
ters, the best instruments, and the best opportunities
for improvement. They should be kept as long as
may be necessary to qualify them to get their own
living, as teachers of languages, as vocalists, as
tuners of pianos, as organists, and the like.

It should be a general rule, that where children
are received as boarders, the parents or friends
should be required to pay a small sum, at least equal
to what it would actually cost them to board the
child at home.

Thus your Institution will best stand that crucial
test of excellence among kindred establishments,
to wit, giving instruction, aid and assistance to the
greatest number of blind persons, while keeping

the least number within its Avails, and away from
their proper homes.

But those who are to organize your Institution,
should have something in view beyond instructing
and aiding the blind of this generation. They
should strive to bring about a condition of society
jii future generations which will not only prevent
the necessity of removing so many blind children
from home for instruction, but lessen the n timber
who shall exist at all. As your hospitals for luna-
tics should be a focus whence go out light and
knowledge to all the people concerning the causes of
insanity, and the means of its prevention, so your
Institution for the Blind should, by means of its
reports, and otherwise, diffuse knowledge concern-
ing the hereditary and other causes of imperfect
organs of sight; and of those habits and morbid
conditions of life which lead to so much blindness
in every generation. It should make widely
known the fact that there is in your State a
constant number of at least twenty-five hundred
persons, wholly or partially blind; that each gen-
eration is burdened with this number, not from any
inherent and essential condition of the physical
man, but from a temporary and remediable one ; and
that the blindness of so many is phenomenal, not
essential; that is, dependent upon the physical
condition of the people, which may be varied at
human will.

Teach that the average number of blind, dumb,
insane, idiotic and other defectives, is a sure test
of the average physical condition of the people;
that is, of the purity of the human stock;

and that number will be higher or lower accord-
ing as they obey or violate God's laws. In
other words, it is a test of the degree in which
they lead religious or sinful lives, "for sin is the
transgression of the law." Tried by this test,
their lives are sinful; for there are now in this
State at least fifteen thousand of the defective
class; and at least as many more who inherit from
birth such strong animal appetites, and such feeble
restraining powers, that they are not free moral
agents; that is, they are not, and cannot be, a law
unto themselves. These thirty thousand are for the
most part, Avhat they are, by reason of organic
and inherited physical imperfections; " The fathers
ate sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on
edge."

All these infirm or enfeebled conditions which
we deplore, are punishments of transgressions of
some law. But although God's punishments can
neither be pardoned, nor evaded, they are tempo-
rary, not eternal; merciful, not wrathful; prospec-
tive, not retrospective in their purpose; remedial,
not vengeful in their operation.

It lies therefore with this genera tion to modify
the physical condition, and through that the moral
condition of the next, and of the next. Whoever
knows this, and feels that he himself can live up to
his light — that he can obey the natural laws,
w that he can be a law unto himself," has little faith
in humanity if he doubts the capacity of the people
at large to stand finally where he stands.

The body is declared to be " the temple of the
Holy Ghost; " by which I understand, the dwelling,

and the instrument of the soul ; and I entreat atten-
tion to the importance of having the temple " swept
and garnished," and the instrument put into the best
possible condition, as a means of attaining to the
highest spiritual excellence, by the greatest possible
number of people.

I regard every well ascertained natural law as a
divine law, the binding force of which would not be
increased by thunders from Sinai. ~New revela-
tions of these laws are continually vouchsafed ; and
among them that which indicates that our spiritual
growth and power depend upon the quality and
condition of our physical system ; which are greatly
variable at human will.

My deep convictions upon this subject, and the
earnestness of my purpose, must be my apology
(if any be needed,) for plainness of speech and
directness of comparison.

Let us suppose, then, that to every generation of
horses or cattle in your State, thirty thousand were
born infirm, defective, shorn of a sense, or otherwise
worthless, think you that your farmers, who can
breed horses of any size, shape, or color; who can
breed cattle with long horns, short horns, or no
horns at all, — think you they would not find of what
transgression of law these defects are the punish-
ment, and hasten to obey it? And if people can
be moved to do this by the mere love of gain, how
much more when moved by that mighty moral
force, parental love?

Time will not permit me to enlarge upon this
subject. You may regard me as an optimist; but
my faith in the elevation and improvement of man's

physical condition, as a step toward his moral ele-
vation, springs from my faith in the love and good
will of the Great Father, who breathed into his
children a part of his divine spirit, which, from its
very essence, must grow brighter and brighter until
the perfect day.

May His blessing rest upon the work which you
this day begin.

Note A.

[Page 42.]

While these sheets were passing through the press, I sub-
mitted this paragraph to two persons who are familiar with
the facts, and asked whether, in their opinion, it was correct,
and ought to be published, or not. ,

The first replied, "If among faults of organization you
include those which give rise almost necessarily to difficulties
and mistakes in administration, then it is strictly true ; and
it'ought to be published for the good of the cause."

The second said, " I think you entirely misapprehend the
true nature of the cause or necessity which led to the estab-
lishment of a second Institution for the Blind." * * *

He did not object to the publication of the paragraph, but
I inferred from his language that it would not. be agreeable ;
and as he is officially connected with the old Institution, I
should have stricken it out, from respect to him and his
fellow-workers, if he had not added, what struck me as porten-
tous words : " The real and true necessity for another Insti-
tution was the great number of helpless and harmless blind
in the State ; and it was owing to the number, condition

and necessities of this class that a new Institution was estab-
lished ; the object being to provide a home or asylum for
them."

Such language from a person in his position gives me
serious concern ; for though I think he is mistaken with
■ regard to certain facts, his words show how strong and prev-
alent is the common idea, that an asylum or home, is neces-
sary and even desirable, for the helpless and homeless blind.

Against this idea I protest earnestly ; not only because it
is erroneous ; but because it may be harmful. It is sure
indeed to disappear when the principles which ought to guide
public charity are better understood ; but should it, in
the meantime, be adopted in the organization of the New
York State Institution, my hopes of the true greatness and
beneficent influences of that establishment will be blighted
in the bud.

S. G. H.

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT

THE TRUSTEES

PERKINS INSTITUTION

Pa$$at{jttsetts %mh\\\ for Ijje $linfc

OCTOBER, 1867.

BOSTON:

WRIGHT & POTTI SINTERS,

No. 4 Spring jlia.i~.

18 68.

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES.

Perkins Institution for the Blind,\
Boston, Oct. 1, 1867. j

To the Corporation.

Gentlemen: — The undersigned Trustees, in behalf of the
Corporation and of the State of Massachusetts, respectfully
submit the following Report for the year ending September 80,
1867.

The number of blind persons connected with the Institution
at the beginning of the year, October 1, 1866, as pupils in the
school, and as workers in the shop and laundry, was . 123
Admitted during the year, . ' . . . . . 33

Total during the year,
Discharged during the year,

Present number, .

156
29

127

The report of the Director shows in minute detail the history
and state of the Institution.

The Trustees granted leave of absence for a year to Dr.
Howe, early in March, and are happy to learn that he will
return and resume his duties as Director at the beginning
of the next term in November. Dr. Edward Jarvis, of
Dorchester, has acted as temporary Director.

With the exception of hiring one additional teacher, no
change has been made in the officers and teachers. All those
who have so long and faithfully labored for the Institution,
have continued in their several places ; and all the affairs and
work of the household and school have gone on in their usual
way, and with their accustomed success.

The reports of the Treasurer and Steward are shown in
detail on subsequent pages.

The inventory of the property, real and personal, shows that
the estate of the Institution loses none of its value. The

4 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

house is comfortably but plainly furnished, and the furniture
is well preserved, and kept in good repair.

The report of the Director gives an analytical account of
the causes of the blindness of those who have been connected
with the Institution during the thirty-six years of its operation,
showing that many of these causes can be traced back beyond
the present generation.

The largest portion, 47.09 per cent., are due to disease, to
enfeebled constitutions, often inherited. 37.75 per cent, were
made blind by accident, and 15.14 per cent, were born blind ;
and many were born with hereditary tendency to general or
special disease that resulted in their loss of sight.

The Director also refers to the need of social influences in
addition to the instruction and training which they receive in
the Institution, in order to fit the blind for self-support after
they leave the Institution. These are topics of importance
which commend themselves to the serious consideration of the
government and the people.

Considering the increase of the numbers in the school, and
the corresponding increase of burdens on the treasury, also
considering that the advance in the cost of living will probably
be kept up during another year, the Director recommends that
the Trustees ask for an increase of the State grant, of at least
five thousand dollars.

This seems reasonable, and therefore the Board requests
that the legislature grant twenty-five thousand dollars for the
support of the Institution through the coming year.

ROBT. E. APTHORP.
THOS. T. BOUVE.
FRANCIS BROOKS.
SAMUEL ELIOT.
GEORGE S. HALE.
AUGUSTUS LOWELL.
JOSEPH LYMAN.
JOSIAH QUINCY.
E. R. MUDGE.
JAMES STURGIS.
BENJ. S. ROTCH.
EDW. N. PERKINS.

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT.

DIRECTOR'S REPORT.

Perkins Institution for the Blind, )
Boston, Oct. 1, 1867. )

To the Trustees.

Gentlemen : — The history of the Institution during the year
just ended is, in its general character, very similar to that of
the previous year.

There were present and connected with the Institution
October 1st, 1866:

Males.

Females.

Totals.

Pupils and learners, in the principal house.

Admitted, ......

Total in the house,

117

Discharged, .....

Died,

Now remaining, ....

In the workshop, October 1st, 1866,

Admitted, .....

Discharged, . .

Now present, .

In the laundry, October 1st, 1855,

, _

Admitted, .....

Discharged, .....

Now present, ....

Total in the whole establishment, Octobei

•

1st, 1866, . . . . .

116

Admitted,

Discharged, .....

Now present, ....

120

0 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

Besides these, there are other blind persons. The principal
teacher and domestic superintendent, and five other blind per-
sons aid in the work of the house, and another is partly
employed in the laundry and partly occupied as teacher of the
smaller girls, making the total blind connected with the estab-
lishment, aiding in carrying on its operations, and enjoying the
benefits of them : males, 69 ; females, 58 ; total, 127.

It is, then, seen that the number of the blind has not dimin-
ished. Year after year brings its own accessions to the corps
of deficient children in this and other schools. The causes,
varied and frequent, still prevail, and there is no reasonable
ground of hope, that at present, these will diminish. Some of
these causes are within the reach of human wisdom and faith
fulness to guard against and intercept.

Causes op Blindness.

Analyzing the record of those received into this Institution,
from its beginning in 1832, through thirty-six years to the
present time, it is found that of the number, 661, who have
been admitted, the causes of the blindness of 482 are stated.
182 were born blind, 227 became blind from disease, and 73
lost their sight by accident; and the causes of 179 are not
stated.

The proportion of these general classes of causes were, —

Congenital, 37.75 per cent.

Diseases, 47.09 " "

Accidents, 15.14 " "

These diseases were principally scarlet fever and measles.
The local diseases were mostly inflammation, amaurosis and
cataract.

Many of those who became blind from disease had a natural
tendency to blindness. They were of weak, scrofulous or
imperfectly developed constitutions. They had imperfect eyes,
which were very easily disturbed or inflamed. With their
feeble constitution, and small quantity of vital force, they had
less than the average power of resistance. A smaller exposure
produced disturbance ; a slighter attack developed itself into
disease ; and a lighter disease overthrew them. Their imper-

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. 7

feet eyes were often the central point on which their disease
fastened itself with the most tenacity, and did its most effective
work of destruction.

It is seen that diseases of the various kinds did the most of
this destructive work, and accidents the next in order ; and
some conditions anterior to the birth of the sufferer formed no
small part of the causes of their incompleteness of sense.
Who did sin, these children or their parents, that these chil-
dren were born blind, or were made so afterwards? It was
with no mere captious cavilling that the doubting Jew asked
this question. It may be reasonably asked now, and it ought
to be asked by parents, by society, by governments, by all who
are or can be, in any degree, responsible for the power of the
people, whether it were the fault of any one or the inevitable
result of uncontrollable causes, that the darkness has settled
on these children ; whether it was the misfortune of the parents
that passed to the child, or the sins which are visited on them-
selves and the children of one generation, at least; whether it
was ignorance that might have been enlightened, or error in
self-management that might have been corrected ; an accident
that could have been guarded against, or even sin that might
have been prevented. Whatever may have been the cause or
causes, it is a question that should be ceaselessly asked, and
answer demanded, whether they are a necessary element in the
human constitution, or whether they are morbid accidents in
human development and growth, which might be, in greater or
less degree, controlled, and their destructive consequences
diminished or prevented, if the laws of human life that are
now known were taught to and recognized by all, and if the
moral power that belongs to the most disciplined were imparted
to the weak, and the wisdom of the wisest were lent to the aid
of the foolish, and the best blessings of humanity were reflected
from those who receive them to those who seem to be neglected
by both Heaven and earth.

The experience of the past, the observation of the diseases'
privations and sufferings among our people and children, in
the present and past generation, fails to teach their appropriate
lessons unless it analyzes the history of these evils and traces
these morbid elements back through the sufferers or their
parents to the primary exposure, habit or indulgence in which

8 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

they originated, to the first point of departure from perfect
health ; and if these causes or any of them, in their remotest
beginnings or in their progress, should appear to be avoidable
or controllable, then the warning should be given to the hear-
ing of all, that as many as possible may escape this terrible
consequence, of blindness.

As it has not been and is not the purpose of this Institution
to heal diseases of the eyes, such patients are not brought to
its observation and care, and it has nothing to do with those
who are in the transition state from healthy vision to its irreme-
diable impairment or irrecoverable loss. Only those whose dis-
eased or clouded eyes are beyond hope of recovery, are brought
to this school, and its managers have only to deal with those
who have passed all the intervening stages between ocular
health and partial or total blindness. As far as possible, a
history is obtained of each case, but all knowledge of these
intervening conditions is a matter of evidence from others, not
of observation here. The history thus obtained is recorded,
and from these records the facts have been derived and the
deductions drawn as presented in the preceding pages of this
Keport.

Education of the Blind.

The sole object of this Institution is then to take these per-
sons of impaired or extinct vision and so to teach, educate and
train them that, as far as possible, they shall know the facts
and apprehend the principles that are taught to others, and
that they shall have power to give and receive enjoyment in
society, to engage in the work and business of the great world
abroad and sustain themselves in health and strength, and
discharge responsibilities of individual and social life.

With suitable teachers, endowed with power of presenting
ideas graphically and clearly, it is not difficult to teach the blind
most of the facts and principles that are taught in other schools
to children in possession of all their senses. As the attention
of the blind is not disturbed nor distracted by objects that are
presented through the eyes, they acquire a power and habit of
concentration and mental discipline more easily than others;
and they learn arithmetic and some of the higher branches of
mathematics, geography, grammar, rhetoric, as well as the
more favored children, so that a stranger hearing their recita-

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. 9

tions without looking at them, would hardly suspect that they
were sightless scholars. There need be no deficiency in this
part of their education.

Hence they learn whatever is presented to them through the
ear or the sense of touch more readily than those of equal
mental acumen, and thus they find no difficulty in acquiring
such knowledge as can be orally imparted, and with suitable
teachers and patience they can be educated in such common
branches as are taught in common schools.

By the same means many of them become musicians. It
must not be supposed, that the blind are originally endowed
with more musical talent than others, but with their habit of
concentration and their feeling that this accomplishment at least
is offered to them in the same measure as to their more favored
brethren and sisters, and with the very common hope that it
may be the means of their support, they study and practise
their lessons in singing and on the piano, organ, <fcc, with a
more intense devotion ; and hence there follows a much higher
musical culture, and a much larger proportion of the blind
educated in such institutions as this, than of seeing youth
educated elsewhere, become singers or performers on the piano,
organ and other instruments, and make it their profession
and their labor, and obtain their living by teaching singing and
instrumental music, and tuning pianos.

Whatever obstacles may have formerly existed to the educa-
tion of the blind, and of their acquiring such knowledge and
mental discipline as are ordinarily acquired in schools, these
are nearly overcome, and a sightless youth of eighteen or twenty
may feel as to these matters, he is nearly as well educated
as his brothers and sisters who have been taught in common
schools, and to that extent they are nearly as well fitted for the
business and the responsibilities of life.

Deficiency in Education of the Blind.
But education in the schools, in books, by study, by reflec-
tion, by practice in music, is not all that our ordinary children
acquire. There are other and equally important means of
training, in the open and broad world, in society ; boys with
boys, and girls with girls, and each with both, and with men
and women.

10 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

The seeing boys play in the streets, and the seeing girls go
freely abroad. They see everybody and hear everybody ; they
use their eyes and their ears, and see and hear and observe
everything about them, whether it be addressed to them or
not. The great and broad book of the world, of society and
nature, is ever open to them, and in greater or less degree they
are incessantly learning lessons and acquiring knowledge.
They learn the world's habits of action, of speech and thought ;
they come to understand their motives and analyze their
characters. All this education, this training of the perceptive
and reflective faculties, added to their education in school, fits
them for life — to enter into the world and take some position,
station, employment or profession — to deal with its men and
women — to adapt their plans to the popular wants and arrange
their business in accordance with the habits and notions of
others ; and thus they move on in harmony with the people-
about them. Whatever they prepare and offer, whether it be
science, skill, handiwork or labor, meets the world's wants
and finds acceptance and sale, and they, in their several ways,
are generally successful and obtain their necessary bread and
their comfortable prosperity by their well adapted exertions.

The apparent necessity and the actual custom of separating
the blind children and youth from their homes and families,
from their neighborhood and towns, and from the great mass of
seeing people, old and young, and gathering them into exclusive
families and schools of their own sort in institutions, deprives
them of these opportunities of public education in common
schools with numbers and varieties of others, in the street
with the miscellaneous children of the neighborhood and town,
at home and in friends' homes with persons of all ages, pursuits
and purposes.

Very narrowly limited are their opportunities of observation.
They have for their associates only the few who are suffering
the same privation with themselves and those who have the
charge of their education. The officers of the establishment
and their teachers mostly, and nearly all the persons that these
children and youth have intercourse with, belong to the same
family, and have their dwelling, their business and their
conversation in the same building with them.

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. 11

Thus, from their earliest infancy or from the beginning of
their privation, they are in great measure, and some almost
entirely, separated from the world, and have little or no oppor-
tunities of receiving that part of their education which can only
be given there, and which other boys and girls unconsciously
enjoy. Consequently, when they finish their term of pupilage
in this school, however long it may have been, and however
learned they may be from books and personal teaching, however
skilful in their trade or in sewing or in any handicraft, or fancy
work or in music, they yet lack the desirable fulness of knowl-
edge of the world's life, habits and thought. They want the
tact of adaptation — the power to put whatever talent they
possess into the general capital of mankind — and to that extent
share freely in its labors, responsibilities and profits.

It would then seem a part of the duty of those who deter-
mine and conduct the education of the blind to endeavor, as far
as possible, to avoid this deficiency, by keeping them in contact
with people abroad, mingling them with other boys and girls in
their schools, in their plays, in their enjoyments, by associating
them with the world's business and affairs and movements, as
much as is consistent with their best training and development.

In this view they should be separated from the common chil-
dren only so far as is necessary for the peculiar instruction
suited to their wants. In all else they should go together.
They and the seeing children should continually meet on com-
mon ground, and have as much of their education as possible
together. They should hear lectures, have recitations and sing
in company.

Still more should the blind live in common families with the
usual mixture of the old and young, the parents and children,
eat at their tables, hear and join in the general conversation,
enjoy the general social or family communion in the parlor,
and, to the extent of their ability, aid in the operations of
household and home, and take part in the movements and
enjoyments of society.

If, as it cannot be denied, the peculiar education of the blind
requires that they should have schools of their own, for some
purposes, their assembling together should be limited to these
objects, and when fulfilled they should again be scattered daily,

12 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

semi-daily, to their several homes as other children are when
their school hours are finished.

There should be no common boarding-house nor artificial
home, where they gather and live from month to month and
from year to year exclusively together ; but they should have
almost as many separate homes as they are in number. As far
as possible, these should be their natural homes. In a large
city there may be enough of the blind for schools or classes,
who could all live with their parents; and those whose homes
are not in the available vicinity of any such school should find
boarding places in its neighborhood, as other youth do who go
to academies and colleges away from their own families. This
policy has long been advocated in the Reports of this Institution.

The plan of distributing the blind in common families has
been tried for about seventeen years with the men and women
in the workshop, and for about four years with the women in
the laundry. Formerly these blind people lived and had their
permanent home in the Institution, where they ate and slept
and talked and associated in shop, dining-room and parlor
exclusively together, apart from the great and stirring world's
cares and noise and responsibilities, and in their semi-monastic
life they had a great amount of personal comfort, but a limited
amount of broad and comprehensive sympathy and generous
happiness.

In 1850 this was changed. The new shop was provided for
day work, but the home of the blind was broken up. They
went out from the Institution, and found board and lodging in
various private families in the neighborhood. They ceased to
be recluses and became citizens at large, and dwelt among men
and women in general society, and shared in the life, the inter-
ests, the conversation, of the street and the town ; and they
have greatly gained thereby in intelligence, in strength, and
flexibility of mind and heart. Their powers are more avail-
able, and they are of more worth to themselves and to the
community than they were when they lived alone.

A better plan than this even for the matured blind is to go
further from the Institution, and more generally into the life of
the world, and have their shops and places of labor and busi-
ness scattered throughout the country — in their several towns,
in their old paternal homes, or in homes which they may make

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. 13

for themselves, and there work in their several ways for the
neighbors, and such chance customers as they may find —
making mattresses and brooms, seating chairs, and doing what-
ever else they may be capable of.

Some have done this successfully. Some have extended their
work beyond the special trades taught in the Institution or shop
of the blind. One man, educated here twenty years ago, went
home to his father's farm, and besides seating chairs for the
families of his neighborhood, turned his hands to such matters
connected with the farm as he had courage or ability to under-
take. This versatile power developed with the culture. He
gradually increased the field of his operations and usefulness,
and now he and a very efficient and skilful brother carry on the
farm, where he finds unceasing opportunities of using his facul-
ties. The farm is mainly devoted to cattle and the cultivation
of garden seeds. This blind man assumed chiefly the care of
the cattle. He feeds and waters them, turns them out of the
barn, and again drives them in at the proper times. He puts
each ox, cow, calf and horse in the appointed place and stall,
and fastens each in the usual way. He milks the cows, takes
the hay from the scaffold, cuts and mixes it with meal, and
gives each its due portion in fitting season. He harnesses the
horses in wagon or chaise when the family want to ride, and
again unharnesses them and puts the animals in the stable, and
the vehicles in their proper places on their return. He takes
care also of the pigs and the hens, hunts the eggs in the barn,
or wherever the cautious fowl attempts to hide them. He shovels
manure in the barnyard and elsewhere. He aids in haying —
loads the hay on the wagon in the field, and packs it away in
the barn. In manifold other ways he makes himself useful on
the farm, and few men in his town find less time or opportunity
to be idle ; and in all this variety of work and exposure he has
met with no accident and suffered no injury.

Moreover, he takes constant and lively interest in the affairs
of the neighborhood and town — of the State and nation. Few
persons seeing him at work at the barn, in the house, in the
garden or in the field, or hearing him talk, would suspect that
he was blind, until they noticed his eyes.

This, it is to be regretted, is indeed an uncommon instance
of one resolute to let none of his other powers lie dormant after

14 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOE THE BLIND.

his vision was completely extinguished, and who was induced,
perhaps, to do more with his remaining sound faculties than he
would have done if his eyes had not been lost.

Others have done like unto him and shown that the loss of
their eyesight, though a very important part of the body, did
not leave them powerless nor very essentially impair their
fulness of manhood.

One blind man is, and has been, a very successful merchant
in New York ; another is a prosperous dealer in real estate.
Several find satisfactory and profitable employment as travel-
ling agents for sale of books, periodicals, sewing machines, or
as traders in these on their own account ; and many earn a
very comfortable living by teaching music, giving lessons in
singing and on the piano, organ, melodeon and other instru-
ments, and many tune pianos.

Some of these by their constant communication with families
and children become acquainted with their wants, and being
familiar with instruments and therefore judges of their good-
ness and worth, are employed to purchase pianos, melodeons,
&c, for them. Thus they become agents both of the people to
buy, and of manufacturers to sell, and receiving a proper
commission for their musical and commercial skill they add
thereby to their income in proportion to their ability as men of
business and their tact in commending their talents to the con-
fidence of the people.

The blind must have food, and clothing, and shelter and
many other essentials and comforts of life after they go forth
from the school, as well as persons whose vision is unimpaired,
and these materials and advantages must be bought with
money for them as for others. However much freinds and the
State may do for their support and education in childhood and
youth, it cannot be expected that this charity will follow them
in and through maturity, nor is it desirable to them. They
want to enjoy the spirit of independence — to be self-support-
ers— to create the bread they eat and to supply their wants by
the sweat of their own brows.

The question then presents itself to all — to the blind, to their
friends, and to the community, how can they be best trained to
enable them to get their living ? how can their remaining pow-
ers be educated, quickened and energized so as to compensate

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. 15

in any degree for the loss of sight, and produce sufficient
income for their support in life ?

This and other institutions have considered these questions
anxiously and ceaselessly. They have endeavored to shape
their plans of education and training for the future good, and,
as far as possible, to secure the self-sustenance of their pupils.
Besides the common branches of learning, and music as an
accomplishment, the boys learn to make brooms and mats, and
some to upholster and make mattresses. The girls learn to
sew and knit, to make fancy-work, and to do some house-work,
and some of them have begun to make brooms. Besides these,
as many of both sexes as can with prospect of advantage, learn
music as an art or a profession, and hope to get their living
thereby, as teachers, organists, as tuners of pianos, &c.

This last, the music teaching and playing, is now the largest
single field open to the blind as a means of support, and it
seems to be growing larger. People are becoming more dis-
posed to employ them, and as they go forth from the school,
they have more and more ground of hope that they will find
opportunities to earn their living in this way.

The managers of this Institution have ever been aware of
the imperfectness of the education that can be obtained by any
class withdrawn as these are and must be from their homes and
from general and miscellaneous society, and congregated in
exclusive association with persons of their own disability ; and
they have endeavored to lessen this incompleteness, and com-
pensate, as far as possible, for the loss of the outer world's
influence for good.

Every candidate for admission into this school is carefully
examined as to his amount of vision and the degree of disabil-
ity, and, if it be found that his sight, even though imperfect,
is yet sufficient to allow him to live and learn among children
and men abroad, he is always advised to do so. But if he can-
not do so and he must come to this school, then every means is
devised to obviate its exclusiveness and to give the pupils
opportunities of associating with the world abroad. They are
allowed to visit at their homes and elsewhere. They are sent
to their homes in vacations and encouraged to visit among
their friends and relations at those periods.

16 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

In order to accustom them to the streets and to self-depend-
ence and self-direction, if they have sufficient sight to find
their way abroad, they are sent on errands to the stores, the
post-office and places in the neighborhood, and to the office in
the city. And even some of those whose sight is entirely lost,
move about the town alone, and feel a pleasant satisfaction in
their self-dependence. Within a few years, the experiment
has been tried with some who had some vision, of sending
them to their homes for a few months, with directions to go to
the common schools where they could hear the reading and
recitations of the pupils and the instructions of the teachers,
and associate with the seeing children, hear and join in their
conversation, and as far as may be, enter into their sports and
enjoy a broader field of companionship and sympathy than
they could in this school.

In these and other ways, the blind have been kept in contact
with the world abroad, and offered all opportunities to acquire
worldly wisdom as well as book knowledge, — an acquaintance
with men and women as well as with science and literature, —
in order that when they shall go forth from the Institution,
they shall be prepared to enter the great arena of life, and
compete with other men and women, in as many fields as
possible, for its rewards of honor and esteem, of respect and
substance.

Efforts made to extend the Advantages of the Institution.

Believing that such institutions as this, although they still
fail of giving their pupils the completeness of an ideal and
desirable education, yet educate them better than they other-
wise would be, the managers have endeavored to diffuse its
blessings widely through New England. They have, from time
to time, sent forth some of the pupils under proper teachers
and guides, to give public exhibitions in various places in this
and other New England States, to show what the blind can be
taught to do. They have sought out the blind children in
these States, and endeavored to persuade their friends and
towns to send them here. Thus the doors of the house have
been set and kept widely open, and all are invited to enter.

thirty-sixth annual report. 17

Advantages unequally used by near and distant Counties.

Yet it is manifest that the advantages of this Institution
have been very unequally enjoyed by the people in various
parts of our Commonwealth. Examining the records of the
Massachusetts pupils from the beginning of this school in 1832
to the present time, and comparing the numbers who have
been sent here from the several counties with their average
annual population, it is found that the annual average was,
from Boston, one in 63,675 ; from Norfolk, Middlesex and
Essex Counties, and from Chelsea, one in 102,405 ; from Wor-
cester, Plymouth, and Bristol Counties, one in 108,749 ; and
from Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, Barnstable,
Nantucket, and Dukes Counties, one in 155,143 of their
people.

There is no evidence that there are more blind in proportion
to the living in Boston and its vicinity, than in Middlesex,
Essex and Norfolk, or more in these three counties than in
the other and remote counties ; yet it appears that, in the same
number of people in each district, while Boston sent 100
pupils, the contiguous counties sent 61, Worcester, Bristol and
Plymouth sent 58, and the remote counties sent only 41 to the
Institution.

This accords with the social law established by an examina-
tion of all the State lunatic hospitals in this country, that in
proportion as a community approaches such an institution, the
number of the insane sent to it increases, and the reverse.

The Institution has been carried on through the last year as
before, with the strictest regard to economy consistent with
the health of the family. The State has increased its grants,
and the charges to other States and to private pupils have been
increased ; but the cost of all the means of life, of instruction
and labor, has increased in a much larger ratio, and the
difficulty of supporting the Institution is greater than ever.

More children from this State have entered within the last
year, than in years preceding. It is not to be supposed that
blindness is increasing, or that there are more sightless chil-
dren in proportion to the people, than informer years; but
more attention is now paid to the education of this class.
The means offered here are more known and appreciated.
Parents are more familiar with the management of the school,
3

18 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

and have more confidence in it, and are therefore more willing
to send their helpless children to its care. Hence, more are
sent out of a definite number of the blind.

CO-OPERATORS.

Mr. Campbell has discharged the duties of his office with
ability, rare devotion to his work, and deep interest in the
education of the pupils in the school, and their success in life
after they leave it. Miss Moulton, after an absence of two
years, again returned to her former office at the head of the
household, over which she has presided with her accustomed
wisdom, energy and grace. One additional teacher has been
employed in the last term on account of the increase of chil-
dren. All the others had filled their respective offices through
many years, and have, in the last year, as before, discharged
their duties faithfully and acceptably. Mr. Bradford, the
steward, superintendent of the shop, and general administrator
of the physical interests of the establishment, who has been
through nearly a generation, a useful, reliable and almost
necessary element in the life and affairs of the Institution, has
rendered another year of acceptable service.

With these disciplined and faithful co-operators, with the
order established by Dr. Howe, through his long course
of effective administration, and the energy and harmony of
movement already existing in all parts of the establishment,
household, school, shop, laundry, and store, I have found the
post of temporary Director to be both easy and pleasant.

Fiscal Affairs.
The fiscal affairs of the several parts of the establishment
have been managed with the most careful economy, and some-
times, it may be feared, from the necessity of the case, with
even too rigid economy. It would be desirable to have some
other and better things ; more teachers and instruments, more
books, more furniture, more varied food, and other comforts.
These might give the children and pupils more vigor, and
increase the efficiency of the school. But the managers have
constantly in mind the great work given to this Institution, of
educating as many of the youthful blind as possible, and of
giving employment, or affording facilities for self-sustenance,
to as many of the mature blind as may ask for them.

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. 19

The managers are compelled to have constantly in view the
limited means of the Institution, whether the gifts of Massa-
chusetts, the payment of other States, or the receipts from the
families of private pupils, and arrange their plan of expen-
diture accordingly.

Workshop.
The workshop has had its full average and even more than
its usual amount of work, and the men and women have
earned generally good wages ; and some of them, at times,
have had their hands full of employment, and received large
returns. By this, it must not be understood that they earn as
much as seeing people, doing the same work. This is not to be
expected. No amount of energy, devotion, or skill in the
blind, entirely compensates for their loss of sight ; but they
can do much for themselves, and these people have generally
made the most of their remaining powers, and earn good wages
and a comfortable subsistence.

Laundry.

The laundry has accomplished all that could be expected of
it. The women have done the washing for this Institution,
and for the idiotic school in which there are nearly one hun-
dred persons, and also much for many private families in the
city. They wash and iron and do the coarse work, and some
seeing women are necessarily employed to aid in the nice
work, whose certain wages diminish the profits which we
desire should wholly inure to the blind.

Nevertheless, these sightless washers and ironers earn wages
nearly sufficient to pay for comfortable, though cheap, board
and clothing. But the Institution, which assumes the respon-
sibility of the laundry, does so at considerable cost ; which,
however, is diminishing year by year, as more work is sent in,
and the women grow more skilful, and the whole establish-
ment grows less burdensome.

The report of the Steward shows in detail the expenses of
the house and school, by which, it will be seen, that all that
has been given and paid, has been expended for necessary
purposes. There has been an increase of pupils within the last
year, and especially within the last term. There are yet more

20 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

blind children in the State who are known to the officers here,
and whose parents begin to entertain the unwelcome thought
of sending their almost helpless ones away from home, and
intrusting them to the care of strangers. Yet the better
thought of giving their darkened children an education, and
means of sustenance and happiness, is growing in their minds,
and they will fill this school more and more. These, with the
advanced and advancing prices of all the materials and means
of life, inevitably increase the cost of supporting the establish-
ment, and create the necessity of more income and larger
grants from the Commonwealth.

The legislature appropriated twenty thousand dollars last
year, which will not be sufficient for the wants of the coming
year ; therefore, I would respectfully suggest, that the Trustees
ask for twenty-five thousand dollars from the Commonwealth,
for the support of the Institution in the year 1868.

Looking thankfully on the past, and hopefully to the future,
committing this Institution with all its tender interests to the
all-seeing Father of all, to him who healed the blind, to the
maternal care of our generous Commonwealth, and to your
faithful watchfulness,

I am, gentlemen,

With high respect,

EDWARD JARVIS, Director pro tern.
Boston, October 1, 1867.

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. 21

SPECIAL REPORT OE DR. HOWE.

To the Trustees.

Gentlemen : — In complying with your request to make a
special Report, I have no alterations or additions to suggest in
the manuscript already prepared. I have too much respect
for the wisdom of Dr. Jarvis to be willing to leave out any-
thing he has written, or any recommendations he has made,
even if not in accordance with my own opinions. But we
agree entirely in our general views. Indeed, almost all the
ideas which he puts forth concerning the general direction of
the Institution, and the suggestions and recommendations
which he makes, will be found in our former reports, only he
expresses them more aptly and forcibly. This alone would
make it desirable to reproduce them, even if it were not for the
consideration that annual reports of such institutions must
necessarily contain occasional repetitions of the same doctrines,
and consist of line upon line of the same precepts.

As to any additions, suggested by my recent inspection of
kindred Institutions in Europe, they will be few and short,
because the Report is already large enough.

I made myself pretty well acquainted with the principal
establishments in Great Britain, France, Belgium, Holland,
Prussia, Austria, Bavaria, and the smaller German States, also
in Switzerland and Italy, nearly forty years ago. I have visited
most of them twice since, and have kept up the acquaintance
by reading their reports.

They have not increased much in number, nor in extent and
variety of means of instruction. The principal Institutions, as
compared with the leading ones in the United States, are not
so well appointed in respect to buildings, grounds and appara-
tus, musical instruments, and other appliances for facilitating
instruction. They do not devote so much time and money to

22 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

school purposes, or to musical instruction ; and the standard of
intellectual attainment of the pupils is not so high ; while in
regard to mechanical work it is higher, especially in the Brit-
ish schools. Both are open to just criticism. The British
schools tend to dwarf the mind by developing bodily strength
and dexterity at the expense of intellectual development ; ours
to dwarf the body by over exercise of the mental faculties.

It is my purpose to give at some time, a detailed account of
these Institutions ; and therefore will now simply make some
general remarks, with a view to show how much such establish-
ments are affected by causes not under the control of their
Directors.

In order correctly to measure and compare the value and
importance of any two Institutions for the Blind, or of the
Institutions of two countries, we must look at the principles
which underlie them, and the purposes with which they are
administered. Buildings, grounds, school apparatus, musical
instruments, and even the amount of instruction, are less impor-
tant matters than is the principle upon which an Institution is
founded, and in view of which it is conducted. Hence it is
that some large and rich establishments, which impart a high
degree of instruction, and polish up their pupils with bright
accomplishments, actually do less than some small and humble
ones for the best interests of the blind, and for promoting what
ought to be the chief aim of all Institutions for their education.

In my humble opinion that aim should be :

First. To prevent the infirmity of blindness from acting
unfavorably upon the harmonious development and formation
of character ;

Second. To compensate for lack of vision [in so far as that
is a bar to bodily and mental development,] by increased exer-
cise of the remaining senses, and by appliances adapted to
sharpen those senses ;

Third. By these and by other means, to equalize, morally,
physically and socially, the condition of the blind with that of
ordinary persons, or as nearly as may be. In other words, to
reduce to its minimum the difference between those who see,
and those who do not see, so far as that difference is the result
of blindness.

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. 23

Blind children and youth should be trained and fashioned in
such wise that peculiarities growing out of their infirmity
shall not prevent them from being fused into the general mass
of society.

The degree of success which is obtained in different Institu-
tions and different countries depends partly upon conditions
within our control, and partly upon things beyond our control.
So strong is the claim of the blind upon the human sympathy,
that in all civilized countries, wise and honest efforts to raise
means for their instruction and improvement are always suc-
cessful. Failure implies lack of wisdom or of earnestness in
those who ask.

But it is different when we come to moral measures ; that is,
when we ask for justice as well as pity ; for sympathy as well
as alms.

All Institutions are affected by the social and political atmos-
phere around them ; and hence, as a general rule, it is found
that Institutions for the Blind come nearer to attaining what
we have laid down above as their highest purpose, in those
countries which are most democratic in their general character
and tendencies.

In England the general result of the effort in behalf of the
blind has been to intensify some of the unfavorable effects
growing out of blindness. They are segregated from general
society even more than they were before. They are put into a
class by themselves, and become more distinctly marked.
Their post is still that of dependents; for the blind man, instead
of holding out his hat at the street corner, is put into an Asy-
lum where a contribution box is held out for him at the door.
The inevitable beggar's box in the Hall of Asylums is more
indicative of the real character of the establishment than the
pretentious gothic fronts, or even the marble tablets upon
which the names of benefactors and the sums they have given
are blazoned in gold letters.

Most of the European Institutions for the Blind are in* the
nature of Asylums, and are supported by annual contributions,
which are made and received in the spirit of alms-giving and
alms-taking. This helps strengthen and perpetuate — what it is
most desirable to destroy — namely, the old, unhappy, and disad-

24 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

vantageous association in the public mind, of blindness with
beggary.

Then as a general thing, in Europe more than in America,
political and social influences favor the promotion of and main-
tenance of distinct classes, of different grades of respectability,
among all the inhabitants. It is natural, therefore, that the
several Institutions for the Blind formed under these influences,
favor the segregation of blind persons into a class by themselves.
In this respect they run counter to what I have tried to show
ought to be the leading idea in the administration of such
establishments.

It is the same in France. The ruling idea, even in respect to
the Imperial Institution, is that what is done for the blind is in
the spirit of mere charity.

In Germany — at least in Protestant Germany — and still
more in Switzerland, the social influences are more favorable
to the blind.

It is in the United States, however, that the general social
influences are the most favorable, and the tendency to separate
the blind into a distinct class is the least strong. Our best
Institutions, moulded under those influences, place the claims
of the blind upon higher ground, and demand for them justice
as well as sympathy.

As it is conceded that the State (or the public) is bound to
place the means of instruction within reach of all children, and
as no special provision is made for the blind child, in common
schools, the State erects a special school for him, and supports
him in it, so that his instruction may not cost his parents any
more than the schooling of ordinary children costs their
parents.

Here begins the attempt to equalize the condition of the
blind with that of the seeing, and to give them something
nearer a fair start in the race of life. This principle ought to
be further acted upon by making provision for the instruction
of .a certain class of blind children in common schools with
common children, which matter is worthy of special attention.

The same idea pervades their subsequent treatment. Cer-
tain facilities and advantages for employment and work are
accorded to the blind man as a matter of right, rather than of

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. 25

charity ; and as an offset to the disadvantages arising from an
infirmity for which he is not responsible.

Our Institutions have been in operation but a quarter of a
century, but they show already the result of the higher princi-
ples and more just views. Patient and persevering efforts,
directed by such principles, will bring still more gratifying
results.

Such principles applied in practice, patiently and persever-
ingly, by men who are gifted with the necessary personal
qualities, will soon have still greater effect.

I regret that I did not arrive at them earlier, and have not
been able to act upon them more consistently. I shall not live
to see their full fruition, for the eleventh hour has come to me;
but many of my fellow-laborers will witness them, and have the
satisfaction of knowing' that, owing in part to their labors, the
blind will at last be taken as equal, independent and useful
members, into that general society by which they have so long
been considered as burdensome dependents.

I earnestly commend to the attention of the Board, and of
the legislature, the recommendation I have frequently made
concerning the increase of the library for the blind.

Also to a special recommendation of certain changes in the
buildings of the Institution. These would involve a considera-
ble cost ; but would give us, first, greater security from fire ;
second, a laundry for women upon our own premises ; third,
removal of the men's workshop to the central lot ; fourth,
increased facilities for carrying on the various branches of the
establishment.

If it is found that these changes will require money that
ought to be expended upon the old building, then it should be
seriously considered whether we cannot have new premises in
the same neighborhood, upon which the buildings and grounds
shall be so arranged as to facilitate the administration of the
Institution upon those principles which we accept as sound in
theory.

It has been carried on, in the present building, at much
greater cost of money, and of wear and tear of mind, than
would have been required in one built expressly for it. Your
Auditors of Accounts can testify to the constant expense
required to adapt the building to the wants of the school and to
4

26 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

keep it in order; and those familiar with the details of adminis-
tration acknowledge that it is carried on under great daily
difficulties, arising from the arrangement of the apartments,
and especially the location of the play-grounds. All these
expenses, difficulties and inconveniences have been borne cheer-
fully, and considered as more than counterbalanced by the
extraordinary natural advantages of the location, which exceed
those of any other Institution I have ever seen. The site
is upon Dorchester Heights, of revolutionary fame ; and it
was selected because of its great beauty and salubrity by the
company who built the vast and costly building for a summer
hotel and boarding-house, and which the Trustees acquired by
exchange for the Perkins Mansion, in Pearl Street. It is one of
the crowning eminences of a narrow peninsula, jutting into the
sea, and is open to fresh breezes on all sides. There are oppor-
tunities for sea bathing and for boating, both of which our
pupils improve and greatly enjoy.

But the principal advantage is that, while in ah atmosphere
as free and salubrious as that of the open country, the building
is within the limits of a metropolis which presents opportunity
for the highest intellectual culture, and especially the culture of
the musical faculties. For this culture it is absolutely essential
that the learner should hear the best music. Boston presents
uncommon advantages in this respect, and our pupils can profit
by them easily, by day and by night, either by an easy walk
over dry sidewalks, or by horse cars which pass the door every
five minutes.

If, without sacrificing those inestimable advantages, our Insti-
tution could have the additional one of suitable buildings and
grounds, its best interests would be greatly promoted.

I urgently recommend that, whenever a change can be made,
the new buildings shall be arranged with a view to carrying out
the principle so often advocated in our Reports, viz., the mini-
mum of association of blind persons with each other, and the
maximum of their association with ordinary persons.

hi my eighteenth annual Report, written in 1849, are these
words : —

" I am most ready to acknowledge that my views respecting
the organization of establishments, even for the education of
ordinary youth, have materially changed. I think that all the

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. 27

advantages arising from them may be gained, and most of the
crying evils attendant upon them avoided, by breaking up the
' commons system,' boarding the youth among families in the
neighborhood, and bringing them together daily for the pur-
poses of instruction and for the advantages of mutual action of
their minds upon each other.

" We are bribed into a toleration of the present system, so
pregnant of evils and so liable to abuse, by money, — by the
Poor Richard gospel of penny saved, penny earned. I know
not how to express my conviction of the disadvantages and evils
of this system in a stronger manner than by saying that when I
am consulted about the establishment of a new institution for
deaf mutes, or even for the blind, notwithstanding the peculiar
condition of the latter class, my advice is : Build up no huge
building for the pupils to live in ; organize no great machinery
for its internal government ; invest not your funds in brick and
mortar and land ; but put up a simple building for school-
rooms ; place your pupils in good families in the neighborhood,
and devote the interest of the fund to paying their board, and
let them be brought daily to the school for instruction.

" With all the advantages of the existing institutions for the
blind, and for mutes, as they are now organized, — [and assuredly
those advantages are manifold and great,] — they are attended
with some serious disadvantages, principally of a moral charac-
ter. By a different organization, all the former might be
secured and most of the latter avoided. The system would be
more costly, in a pecuniary point of view, than the present one,
so much more that it will hardly be adopted in our generation."

What seemed unattainable then seems attainable now, and
indeed at much less increased cost than was then supposed
necessary. Experience shows indeed that there are many blind
children who, owing to unfavorable home influences, could not
be boarded in ordinary families, but require special domestic
training and instruction. By a slight modification of the above
plan this could be had. In remodelling we could well dispense
with the costly, showy and imposing edifices of ordinary public
institutions where all the pupils are lodged under one roof and
live in one room, and could have a simple establishment, in
which the pupils would be brought together as much as is

28 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

needful for their special instruction, without being kept con-
gregated together in great numbers all the time.

All that will be needed is a large central building, for school-
rooms, music rooms, and the like, and near by to it several
ordinary houses, owned and furnished by the Institution and
under its general control. These should be suitable for an
ordinary family of a dozen or fifteen. They could be occupied
by responsible persons, who would board the pupils at fixed
rates. They could be conducted like ordinary houses, and the
blind trained to do almost all the domestic work, thus being
under some kind of instruction out of school as well as in it.

A saving of money might perhaps be made by having the
houses so arranged on either side of the main building, that all
could be heated from a common furnace, and perhaps be sup-
plied with certain parts of the food, leaving the minor parts to
be done in the separate houses. But if there were a commis-
sariat, to furnish staples at prime cost, there would be little loss
of money in having each family live in a house by itself, with a
little garden about it, while there would be a great gain in more
important matters. The general principle being adopted, the
details could be easily worked out.

Such an arrangement would not be precisely what one whose
means were illimitable might desire, because he would probably
prefer that each blind child should live at home, or in an ordinary
family, and go abroad for his instruction, just as ordinary chil-
dren do ; but it would be an immense improvement on that of any
existing Institution; and I trust that the blind of Massachusetts
may at some time have the pleasures and the advantages which
such an one would give them.

It is my duty to advise the Trustees to be looking about for
my successor. Whoever has held an office thirty-seven succes-
sive years must expect to quit it soon. Besides, in my case,
even should my life be prolonged, there are strong reasons for
my entering another field of work ; though I hope to be able
to give to this a part of whatever strength may be left.

Respectfully,

SAMUEL G. HOWE.

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT.

TREASURER'S ACCOUNT.

Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind in account
with Wm. Claflin, Treasurer.

1866.

Dr.

Oct. 16.

To draft of auditors of accounts

, No. 234,

$3,017 OS

Nov. 15.

K (( ((

No. 235,

4,924 60

Dec. 11.

u « (c

No. 236,

3,015 76

1867.

Jan. 11.

To draft of auditors of accounts

No. 237,

5,776 16

Feb. 14.

M u ((

No. 238,

. .

3,546 14

Mar. 27.

a it u

No. 239,

3,632 31

Apr. 19.

M u a

No. 240,

3,878 45

May 30.

U (( u

No. 241,

3,769 58

July 24.

a u u

No. 242,

3,148 66

Aug. 23.

H « ((

No. 243,

. .

3,226 21

Sept. 20.

a a u

No. 244,

3,389 47

Balance on hand, .

2,741 11

$44,065 53

1866.

Cr.

Oct. 1.

By balance cash, .

$4,954 87

State of Massachusetts, .

. . .

5,000 00

Nov. 15.

Dec. 7.

1867.
Jan. 1.
April 6.

10.

19.

27.

May 2.

" 30.
30.

June 4.

amount from Dr. Howe, per statement

dated Nov. 8, .
amount from Executors of Hon. Stephen

Fairbanks,

308 25

500 00

By State of Massachusetts, .

5,000 00

State of Maine,

1,060 00

State of Massachusetts, .

4,000 00

State of Vermont, .

2,250 00

State of Connecticut,

1,938 00

Coupons of N. Y. Central Bond, .

142 50

State of New Hampshire,

4,000 00

Edward Jarvis, Director, pre

» tern., state-

ment May 30,

897 48

Edward Jarvis, Director,

from John

Wooldredge, June 4, .

145 84

MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

July 8. By State of Massachusetts, . . . §6,000 00

15. State of Rhode Island, .... 1,951 67

Aug. 16. J. Goddard, legacy, . 85,000 00

three months and-a-half inter-
est on §4,700, . . . 82 25

Less Government Tax,

5,082 25
300 00

4,782 25

Sept. 20. By Edward Jarvis, Director, of Wm. T.

Allen, statement Sept. 13, . . 100 00

28. Edward Jarvis, Director, statement

September 28 1,034 67

§44,065 53

The undersigned, a Committee appointed to examine the accounts of the
Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, for the year
1866-7, have attended to that duty, and hereby certify that they find the
accounts to be properly vouched and correctly cast, and that there is a cash
balance in the hands of the Treasurer of §2,741.11, (twenty-seven hundred
and forty-one Ty7 dollars.) The Treasurer also exhibited to us evidence of
the following property belonging to the Institution : —

Deed of land in South Boston, dated April, 1844,

» " " dated February, 1S47,

« " " dated August, 1848, .

" " " dated January, 1850, .

" « " dated July, 1850,

« » " dated April, 1855, §2,811.50 ; les

mortgage, §1,500, .
" " " dated April, 1855,

" " " dated August, 1855, .

5 bonds of §1,000 each of the N. Y. Central Railroad, being the
legacy of Sarah P. Pratt,

§755

5,000

5,500

1,762

. 1,020

1,311

3,710 00

450

4,700

§24,209 93

THOS. T. BOUVE,
GEO. S. HALE

rvE )

' y Auditing Committee.

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT.

Detailed Statement of Treasurer's Cash Account.

Dr.

To drafts of the auditors of accounts, Nos. 234 to 244, inclusive, $41,324 42
cash on hand Sept, 30, 1867, 2,741 11

$44,065 53

1866.
Oct. 1.
1.
Nov. 15.

Cr.

Dec.

1867.

Jan.

Apr.

10.

19.

27.

May

30.

By balance cash,

State of Massachusetts, ....

By amount from Dr. Howe, as per following :

Cash from Thomas Reeves, for board and

tuition of brother, ....
Cash from Philadelphia Institution for the

Blind, for books in raised print,
B. O. Frazier, for board and tuition of son,
Cash from Geo. Preston, for board and

tuition of son, .....
Cash for books in raised print,

$4,954 87
5,000 00

$50 00

20 50
147 75

50 00
40 00

By cash from executors of Hon. Stephen Fairbanks,

By State of Massachusetts, .
State of Maine,
State of Massachusetts, .
State of Vermont, .
State of Connecticut, .
coupons of New York Central Bond,
State of New Hampshire,
By amount from Dr. Jarvis, Director pro tem., as per

following :
Cash from J. C. Harris, on account of

board and tuition of son, . . . $100 00
Cash from Levi Marsh, on account board

of Laura Bridgman, . . . . 90 00
Cash received from R. G. Moorman, on

account board and tuition of daughter, 195 83
Cash received from sale of books in raised

print and writing boards, . . . 486 65
Cash received from pupil for musical

instrument, 25 00

308 25
500 00

5,000 00
1,060 00
4,000 00
2,250 00
1,938 00
142 50
4,000 00

897 48

32 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

June 4. By cash from John Wooldredge, on account board and

tuition of son, $145 84

July 8. cash, State of Massachusetts, .... 6,000 00
15. " " Rhode Island, .... 1,951 67
Aug. 16. cash, J. Goddard's legacy, . . . $5,000 00
Less government tax, 300 00

4,782 25

$4,700 00
By 3^ months interest, . . . . 82 25

Sept. 20. By cash from Wm. T. Allen, on account board and

tuition of son, 100 00

21. By cash from Dr. Jarvis, as per statement following :
Thomas Beeves, on account board and

tuition of brother, .... $12500
Wm. Maynard, on account board and

tuition of son, ....
Thomas Frazier, on account board

and tuition of son, ....
Books in raised print and writing

boards, . . ...
Use of horse and wagon and board of

teamster of workshop of blind,

75 00

104

650

1,034 67

(

$44,065 53

Analysis of Treasurer's Account.
The Treasurer's Report shows that the total receipts during the

year were .......... $44,065 53

Deducting cash on hand at beginning of the year, . . . 4,954 87

Net receipts, $39,110 66

Ordinary Receipts.

From State of Massachusetts, $20,000 00

beneficiaries of other States and private pupils, 12,293 26

Extraordinary Receipts.
From executors of S. Fairbanks' estate, . ' .
coupons of New York Central Bond,

J. Goddard's legacy,

Levi Marsh, on account of Laura Bridgman,
sale books in raised print and writing boards

musical instrument,

use of horse and wagon and board of teamster of
workshop of the blind, ....

. $500 00

142

. 4/7S2

627

650

32,293 26

0,817 40

Total amount received by Treasurer, . . . $39,110 66

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. 33

General Analysis of Steward's Account, Oct. 1, 1867.

Dr. Cr.

Sundry liabilities due Oct. 1, 1866, .... $5,606 88

Ordinary expenses, as per schedule annexed, and
extraordinary expenses, as per schedule for extraor-
dinary repairs, &c, 38,669 75

Total receipts on drafts from Treasurer, . . . §41,324 42
receipts from other sources, as per schedule

annexed, 541 13

$41,865 55
Amount due Steward Oct. 1, 1867, . . . 2,411 08

$44,276 63 $44,276 63

Amounts received by Steward for the year ending September 30, 1867,
not paid to Treasurer.

Board of laundry girls, $137 50

Sale of old boiler, 75 00

of old iron, 14 93

of brooms-of boys' shop, 313 70

$541 13
5

MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

General Analysis of Expenditures for the, year ending September 30,
1867, as per Steward's Account.

ARTICLES.

Meats, 12,230 pounds, .

Fish, 3,1 69| pounds,

Butter, 3,001^ pounds, .

Milk, 14,942 quarts,

Rice, Sago, etc., 813 pounds, .

Sugar, 6,257 pounds,

Tea and Coffee, 575 pounds, .

Breadstuffs, ....

Fruit,

Potatoes and other vegetables,
Groceries, . . •
Sundry articles of consumption,
Household furniture and bedding,
Gas and oil, ....
Coal and wood,
Washing, ....
Clothing and mending, .
Salaries and wages of blind people,
Salaries and wages of seeing people,
Outside aid, ....
Insurance, ....

Taxes,

Rent of office in town, .

Expenses of stable,

Expenses of boys' shop, .

Expenses of printing office,

Books, stationery, etc., .

Musical instruments,

Medicine and medical attendance,

Board of blind pupils,

Construction and repairs,

Extraordinary travelling expenses of pupils,

Expense attending purchase of horse,

Express on books and slates to Paris expositio

Funeral expenses,

Bills to be refunded, ....

Sundries, ......

Liabilities of 1866 paid in 1866 and 1867

Deduct for extraordinary construction and repairs,
for extraordinary travelling and other ex-

for Liabilities of 1866 paid in 1866-67, .

Actual current expenditures,

$1,548 93

791 61
5,606 88

$1,852 36
276 68

1,157 59

1,169 08

98 99

881 43

299 50

2,534 10
151 42
465 39
443 68
107 85

1,209 98
465 34

3,167 35

2,980 15
120 40

2,029 66

9,481 76
415 47
379 23
13 00
188 00
996 07
759 62
366 22
704 74
562 84
101 71
80 50

3,859 83
359 95
208 61
8 00
15 00
200 05
558 20

5,606 88

$44,276 63

7,947 42

3,329 21

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. 35

General Abstract of the Accounts of the Work Department, Oct. 1, 1867.

Workshop and Laundry.
Liabilities.
Due Institution for original loan, .... $16,378 42
" " for interest on original loan, . . 982 71
" sundry individuals, 3,795 33

521,156 46

Assets.

Stock on hand Oct. 1, 1867, $5,233 43

Cash " " 1,989 92

Debts due, 3,587 19

10,810 54

Balance against the work departments, Oct. 1, 1867, . . $10,345 92

" Oct. 1, 1866, . . 10,264 09

U i. U I.

■ $81 83

Analysis of the Accounts of the Work Departments.

Cash on hand Oct. 1, 1866, ..... . . $1,578 84

" received during the year, . 34,033 69

Liabilities Oct. 1, 1866, $5,001 59

Salaries and wages blind persons, . . $8,450 38
» " seeing " . . 5,984 04

14,434 42

Sundries for stock, &c, 14,186 60

Cash on hand Oct. 1, 1867, 1,989 92

5,612 53 $35,612 53

Amount paid blind persons for the year ending Sept. 30, 1867, . $8,450 38

" " 1866, . 7,295 36

a a

Increase over last year, . ... . . . $1,155 02

MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

List of Embossed Boohs, printed at the Perhins Institution and
Massachusetts Asylum for the Mind.

No. of

Trice per bound

Price, unbound,

Vol. of those

in pasteboard

Volumes.

for sale.

boxes.

Lardner's Universal History, .

$5 00

n 50

Howe's Geography,

4 00

1 00

Howe's Atlas of the Islands,

4 00

English Reader, first part, .

English Reader, second part,

4 00

1 50

The Harvey Boys,

The Pilgrim's Progress,

5 00

1 50

Baxter's Call,

4 00

1 50

English Grammar,

Life of Melancthon,

3 00

Constitution of the United States

3 00

Book of Diagrams,

Viri Romse, ....

Pierce's Geometry, with diagrams

4 00

Political Class-Book, .

First Table of Logarithms, .

3 00

1 00

Second Table of Logarithms,

4 00

Principles of Arithmetic,

3 00

Astronomical Dictionary,

3 00

Philosophy of Natural History,

5 00

Rudiments of Natural Philosophy

5 00

Cyclopaedia,

5 00

2 00

Book of Common Prayer, .

5 00

2 00

Guide to Devotion,

New Testament, (small,)

4 00

New Testament, (large,)

Old Testament, .

Book of Psalms, .

4 50

1 00

Book of Proverbs,

4 00

1 00

Psalms in Verse, .

Psalms and Hymns,

5 00

The Dairyman's Daughter, .

The Spelling-Book, .

The Sixpenny Glass of Wine,

Howe's Blind Child's Manual,

Howe's Blind Child's First Book,

2 50

Howe's Blind Child's Second Book,

3 00

Howe's Blind Child's Third Book,

3 00

Howe's Blind Child's Fourth Book,

3 00

Collection of Hymns for the Blind,

5 00

Milton's Poetical Works,

5 00

Diderot's Essay, .

5 00

Combe's Constitution of Man,

8 00

2 50 '

Natural Theology,

8 00

2 50

Writing Cards, .

Maps, globes, and other apparatus prepared for Institutions at actual cost.

A good mural map of any State can be made in plaster for about ten dollars.

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPOET. 87

APPENDIX.

Perl-ins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, J

Office No. 20 Brom'field Street. \-

Boston, 1S68. )

CIRCULAR.

TO THE CLERGYMEN, PHYSICIANS, AND OVERSEERS OF THE rOOR IN THE NEW
ENGLAND STATES.

Dear Sir : — I solicit jour kind attention to some remarks concerning
blind persons.

For a quarter of a century ample provisions have existed in New
England for the gratuitous instruction and improvement of all of them,
but still the fact is not known to parties most concerned. In remote
towns and villages, many blind children grow up in ignorance, and learn
only too late what a precious opportunity they have lost.

Indeed, their very existence is sometimes unknown beyond their own
household or immediate neighborhood. Clergymen, and even physicians,
when asked if they know any blind children, often say, " No ! there is
not one in my parish ! " or " my round," whereas, in reality, there may
be several.

The census-taker misses many of them. Some parents either dislike
to acknowledge the infirmity of a child, or fail to see how they can
benefit him by making it known.

Nothing but earnest and careful search, by intelligent persons, reveals
the real number of the blind.

Will you kindly undertake this work in your neighborhood ; and if
you find, in indigent or ignorant families, a child so deficient in sight
that it cannot distinguish the nails on your fingers, or letters in a book,
send me the name and address in full?

If the child is over five years of age, I will send an alphabet, in raised
print, that it may begin to feel out the letters, if some one will give a
little assistance in the beginning. If the child is able to go out, will
you kindly urge the parents to send it to the nearest public school, and
to persist in having it go regularly ? If the teacher can be induced to
give it a little special attention, it will learn a great deal ; but if the
child only sits and listens, it will learn much that will be valuable to it
afterwards.

38 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

If the circumstances of the family forbid the child receiving all the
necessary attention and guidance, it had better be sent here, at least for
one year. This can be done without any other cost except for clothing
and car-fare. Let the parents, or the selectmen, or some intelligent
friend, write to the governor of your State, and he will give a warrant
for free admission.

The child will here be under the care of good and kind women, who
will watch over it carefully. It will be taught all the branches usually
taught in common schools, and will soon be able to read the Bible, to
write, cipher, &c. If the child has good musical ability, he will have
opportunity of cultivating it, and be taught to sing and play.

If the blind person is an adult (not over forty years,) and well and
strong, and desirous of learning some simple trade by which he can
afterwards earn his living (in part, at least,) he can be admitted to the
work department upon the warrant of the governor.

All blind persons admitted can have the benefit of the advice of the
best oculists in the city.

By making these facts known to any family having a blind relative,
you may perhaps confer upon it a great benefit, and certainly you will
oblige,

Yours, truly,

SAM'L G. HOWE.

N. B. — There are impostors about ; some in clerical garb. No per-
son is authorized to speak for or receive money for this Institution with-
out a written certificate. No society or agency is known in this country
which authorizes any one to go about and preach, or take up collections,
upon the vague pretence of promoting the education of the Blind.

TERMS OF ADMISSION.

Young blind persons of good moral character, can be admitted to the
School by paying $300 per annum. This sum covers all expenses,
except for clothing; namely, board, washing, medicines, the use of
books, musical instruments, &c. The pupils must furnish their own
clothing, and pay their own fares to and from the institution. The
friends of the pupils can visit them whenever they choose.

Indigent blind persons, of suitable age and character, belonging to
Massachusetts, can be admitted gratuitously, by application to the
governor for a warrant.

The following is a good form, though any other will do :

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. 39

" To his Excellency the Governor :

" Sir : — My son, (or daughter, or nephew, or niece, as the case may-
be,) named A. B., and aged , cannot be instructed in the common
schools for want of sight. I am unable to pay for the tuition at the
Perkins' Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, and I
request that your Excellency will grant a warrant for. free admission.
" Very respectfully, ■ • ."

The application may be made by any relation or friend, if the parents
are dead or absent.

It should be accompanied by a certificate from one or more of the
selectmen of the town, or aldermen of the city, in this form :

" I hereby certify that, in my opinion, Mr. is not a

wealthy person, and that he cannot atford to pay $300 per annum for his
child's instruction.

(Signed,) ."

There should also be a certificate, signed by some regular physician,
in this form :

"I certify that, in my opinion, has not sufficient

vision to be taught in common schools ; and that he is free from
epilepsy, and from any contagious disease.

(Signed,) ."

These papers should be done up together, and directed to " The
Secretary of the Commonwealth, State House, Boston, Mass.

An obligation will be required from some responsible person, that the
pupil shall be removed without expense to the institution, whenever it
may be desirable to discharge him.

The usual period of tuition is from five to seven years.

Indigent blind persons residing in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Connecticut and Rhode Island, by applying as above to the " Commis-
sioners for the Blind, care of the Secretary of State," in the respective
States, can obtain warrants of free admission.

For further particulars address Dr. S. G. Howe, Director of the
Institution for the Blind, Boston, Mass.

The relatives or friends of the blind who may be sent to the institu-
tion are requested to furnish information in answer to the following
questions : —

40 MASSACHUSETTS ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.

1. What is the name and age of the applicant?

2. Where born ?

3. Was he born blind ? If not, at what age was the sight impaired ?

4. Is the blindness total or partial ?

5. What is the supposed cause of the blindness ?

6. Has he ever been subject to fits ?

7. Is he now in good health and free from eruptions and contagious
diseases of the skin ?

8. Has he ever been to school? If yes, where?

9. What is the general moral character of the applicant ?

10. Is he gentle and docile in temper, or the contrary?

11. Has he any peculiarity of temper and disposition?

12. Of what country was father of the applicant a native?

13. What was the general bodily condition and health of the father,
was he vigorous and healthy, or the contrary?

14. Was the father of the applicant ever subject to fits or scrofula?

15. Were all his senses perfect?

1 6. Was he always a temperate man ?

17. About how old was he when the applicant was born?

18. Was there any known peculiarity in the family of the father of
the applicant ; that is, were any of the grand-parents, parents, uncles,
aunts, brothers, sisters or cousins blind, deaf or insane, or afflicted with
any infirmity of body or mind ?

19. If dead, at what age did he die, and of what disorder?

20. Where was the mother of the applicant born ?

21. What was the general bodily condition of the mother of the
applicant, strong and healthy, or the contrary?

22. Was she ever subject to scrofula or to fits ?

23. Were all her senses perfect ?

24. Was she always a temperate woman ?

25. About how old was she when the applicant was born ?

26. How many children had she before the applicant was born?

27. Was she related by blood to her husband, if so, in what degree,
1st, 2d, or 3d cousins ?

28. If dead, at what age did she die, and of what disorder?

29. Was there any known peculiarity in her family ; that is, were
any of her grand-parents, parents, uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, chil-
dren or cousins, either blind or deaf or insane or afflicted with any
infirmity of body or mind ?

30. What are the pecuniary means of the parents or immediate
relatives of the applicant ?

31. How much can they afford to pay towards the support and educa-
tion of the applicant ?

THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT.

OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION,

18 67-8

PRESIDENT.

SAMUEL MAY.

VICE-PRESIDENT.

JOSEPH LYMAN.

TREASURER.

WILLIAM CLAFLIN.

SECRETARY.

SAMUEL G. HOWE.

TRUSTEES.

ROBERT E. APTHORP. j AUGUSTUS LOWELL.

FRANCIS BROOKS. i G. R. MUDGE.

THOMAS T. BOUVE. EDWARD N. PERKINS.

SAMUEL ELIOT.
GEORGE S. HALE.
JOSEPH LYMAN.

JOSIAH QUINCY.
BENJAMIN S. ROTCH.
JAMES STURGIS.

For October,
November,
December,
January,
February,
March,
April,
May.
June,
July,
August,
September,

VISITING COMMITTEE:

Messrs. APTHORP and BOUVE.
BOUVE and BROOKS.
BROOKS and ELIOT.
ELIOT and HALE.
HALE and LOWELL.
LOWELL and LYMAN.
LYMAN and MUDGE.
MUDGE and PERKINS.
PERKINS and QUINCY.
QUINCY and ROTCH.
ROTCH and STURGIS.
STURGIS and APTHORP.
6

THIRTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT

THE TRUSTEES

PERKINS INSTITUTION

Passarljusefls %N$m for % $Ihft.

October, 1868.

BOSTON:

WRIGHT & POTTER, STATE PRINTERS,
79 Milk Street (corner of Federal).
1869.

TRUSTEES' REPORT.

Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind,

Boston, September 30, 1868.

To the Corporation.

The undersigned, Trustees, have the honor to report as fol-
lows for the financial year, which closes this day.

The history of the Institution can only be learned from its
annual reports ; but these are not easily found, being addressed
to official bodies, the members of which are continually changed.
The outlines of it, therefore, may properly be repeated from time
to time, for the benefit of those whose duty or inclination lead
them to desire a knowledge of it.

Early History.

No public measures were taken in this country for the edu-
cation of the blind until Dr. John D. Fisher, of Boston, called
attention to it. At his instance, mainly, an association of gen-
tlemen was formed in Boston, in 1829, for promoting this new
scheme of beneficence. They procured an act of incorporation
under the name of the New England Asylum for the Blind,
which was the first establishment of the kind upon this con-
tinent.

The legislature authorized the governor to place indigent
blind children in the Institution, at State charge.

Some time was spent in collecting information at home and
abroad, and in preparatory trials, so that the Institution was not

4 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

publicly opened until 1832, and then with only six pupils, in a
private house on Pleasant Street, Boston. It soon attracted
public attention, and liberal subscriptions were received. The
legislature made an appropriation of six thousand dollars for
the support of beneficiaries. Col. Thomas H. Perkins gave to
it his mansion house in Pearl Street, which was occupied a few
years, and exchanged in 1839 for the Mount Washington Hotel
at South Boston. In this building it has remained ever since.

Mr. William Oliver made a still more munificent donation.

Other gentlemen contributed liberally. The ladies held a
fair and contributed important aid.

In this way a considerable sum was raised. It was not so
large, however, that it could be permanently funded, because,
after necessary investments in shape of furniture, apparatus,
&c, were made, the income, added to the annual appropriation
by the State, was not sufficient for current annual expenses.

It was necessary to incur large expenses for altering the
building, and adapting it, and the grounds, to their new use.
Adjacent lots were bought as opportunity offered. And as the
pupils increased, more furniture, more musical instruments,
more books and apparatus were needed.

By the terms of the grant from the State the Institution was
obligated to receive only a certain number of free beneficiaries.
The Trustees, however, never took advantage of this, but
received all of proper age who applied.

Their policy was to spend nothing upon ornamental archi-
tecture, outward display, or internal luxuries; to be frugal
even to parsimony in payment of salaries and family expenses,
but to be liberal in providing everything that would promote,
not only the happiness and the interests of the blind of our own
State, but the cause of the education of the blind everywhere.

The multiplication of books for the blind is largely owing to
the improvements in printing brought about by costly experi-
ments, conducted through many years, in the printing office
of the institution.

It is by this liberal policy that the Institution has been able
to do so much good at home and abroad ; but it has done so at
the expense of its capital, or rather by investing a large part of
it in means and appliances for extensive usefulness.

Some may think that it would have been wiser to hold the

1868.] ANNUAL REPORT. 5

capital intact, and to do no more than could be done by the
expenditure of the income. So indeed it would have been if
the capital had been large enough, and if blind pupils had been
coming along slowly, and their wants only beginning to be
known. But they were found to be numerous, and were suf-
fering from neglect, as those of preceding generations had
suffered; and, therefore, as soon as the feasibility of helping
them was demonstrated, the Trustees proceeded at once to lay
broad and deep the foundations of a suitable establishment,
confident that so long as it should be wisely and honestly ad-
ministered, a liberal public and an enlightened legislature would
provide all that should be needed for its support.

It would be easy to show many ways in which the Institution
has accomplished good ends by a liberal use of its funds, which
it could not have done by confining its expenditures strictly
within its income. The mention of two must suffice.

It would have been possible to make a few copies of text-
books in raised letters, by pricking the letters through the paper
by hand. This would have been sufficient for the absolute
needs of a class of pupils, and would have been very cheap.

But then the great improvement in embossed printing would
not have been made, in our generation at least ; and the blind of
the whole country, who have been taught to read, would not
have had at their fingers' ends, as they now have, the whole of
the Bible, Milton's poetry, and many other valuable works.

The second is the instruction and training of unfortunate
persons, who, bosides being blind, were incapacitated from being
taught as the blind are taught.

Some were partially or wholly idiotic ; but this did not deter
from attempts at their improvement. Indeed, the first system-
atic efforts known to have been made in this country for teach-
ing idiots, were made in our Institution upon two blind idiotic
children, who were greatly improved thereby.

Other children sent to the institution proved to be deaf as
well as blind. Now, when a deaf-mute child is sent to the
Institution for the Deaf and Dumb at Hartford, or to any kin-
dred establishment, and found to be deficient in intellect, or
unable, by reason of defective vision, to join the classes and be
taught by visible signs, he is rejected. This is not because it
is impossible to teach him, but because he cannot be classed

6 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

with others. He must have a special teacher. His instruction
would require special and costly efforts, and no funds are
provided therefor.

The education of Oliver Caswell and Laura Bridgman cost
thousands of dollars more than that of ordinary blind or mute
pupils : but who begrudges the years of patient study and costly
toil, which contrived a way for these pioneers out of their dark
and still isolation, into human companionship, — a way by which
other unfortunates, who may be buried as they were, out of
sight and hearing, may be more easily brought forth from their
living tomb ?

Had it been the policy to confine our yearly expenses strictly
within the income, Laura Bridgman might never have known
the name of God, or read the words of Christ.

The Institution has, moreover, put a liberal construction
upon its powers. Strictly speaking its business was to teach
and train blind children, and send them out into the world
to seek a livelihood. The practice, however, has been to
provide employment for such as could not find it at home ;
and to sell their wares for them without charge.

Within the last nine years forty-two thousand dollars have
been paid, in shape of wages, to adult blind persons.

The constant aim has been to help blind persons to help
themselves, and so to lighten, as much as possible, the burden
which blindness imposes upon the Commonwealth.

The Institution, indeed, may be considered as belonging to
the State, for although nominally the property of a large num-
ber of individuals, they are united by an Act of incorporation
which gives no individual ownership, except for specific pur-
poses ; and besides, part of the Trustees are appointed by the
governor and council, so that should the State wish at any time
to take possession of the establishment it could doubtless do so.

Such a course, however, would not be conformable to the
principles which should govern the administration of public
charity. It is better that our citizens generally should continue
to take their part in the administration of this and of kindred
institutions, should give them aid and comfort by their contribu-
tions made directly, and not be content with those made indi-
rectly by paying taxes.

1868.] ANNUAL REPORT. 7

General Organization of the Institution.

The by-laws of the corporation make members thereof all
persons who contribute $25 to the funds ; all who serve as
trustees ; and all who may be made members by special vote.
Membership implies no pecuniary responsibility, and no other
duty save that of attending the meetings, which are seldom
oftener than once in the year.

At the annual meetings the corporation chooses a president,
vice-president, treasurer and secretary, and eight trustees.
The governor and council of Massachusetts appoint four other
trustees, and these twelve constitute

The Board op Trustees,
who have the responsibility for the conduct and management
of the Institution until their successors are appointed. They
are expected to visit and inspect the Institution at least twice
a month, and divide themselves into committees for this pur-
pose, each member doing duty one month.

The Treasurer

has charge of all the property and income. The income is de-
rived, first, from the annual appropriation by the legislature of
the State of Massachusetts, [now 125,000,] in consideration of
which all beneficiaries nominated by the governor are received
gratuitously ; 2d, from the other States of New England which
pay $300 a year for each beneficiary designated by their gov-
ernor ; 3d, from private pupils ; 4th, from donations, lega-
cies, &c.
The Trustees appoint two of their members as

Auditors of Accounts,
who examine all bills, and give drafts for what they find due,
upon the treasurer, who pays no money except upon their
order.
The Trustees likewise appoint

A Director,
who has the responsibility for the administration of the estab-
lishment, selects the teachers and officers, and has immediate
charge and direction of affairs. He makes regular reports in
writing to the Trustees.

8 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

Internal Economy and Organization.

The establishment was, in the beginning, like an ordinary
family, the only peculiarity being that the five or six children
were all blind, and were taught and trained at home. The
household arrangements, the domestic service, the meals, were
all ordered as in other houses.

During its growth of thirty-fold, the original simplicity of the
single family has been departed from more and more widely.
There had to be separation of pupils, first by sex, next by age and
capacity, next by the training for the calling which they were to
pursue ; and separation of the house into different parts. The
little dining-room, with its single table, would no longer suffice
for family meals and children's play-room ; the parlor with its
piano would not do for family prayers in the morning, for music-
room by day, for social purposes at all times ; but there must be a
chapel, school-rooms, music-rooms, workshops, dormitories and
the like.

With this came separation of the duties. One man and one
woman could not suffice as in a small family for all the domestic
offices, and for instruction, training and discipline ; there must
be steward, teachers, matrons and the like.

At each remove from the simplicity of family life we gain, on
the score of economy and convenience, but lose on the score of
moral and educational influences.

There are two households — one for each sex. Separate par-
lors, dormitories, dining-rooms, &c. The matrons and teachers
sit at the same table, and have the same food as the pupils.

The instruction has been conducted for thirty-five years upon
the plan like that followed in the management of large board-
ing-schools for the education of ordinary children and youth,
save that both sexes live under one roof.

The General Inferences
to be drawn from this experience upon several interesting
questions, especially whether it is best to educate the blind
together or apart, are as follows : —

First. That persons suffering under a common infirmity as
mutism, blindness and the like, are liable to certain abnormal
and unfavorable consequences, flowing from their abnormal
condition. These are intensified by closely associating the

1868.] ANNUAL REPORT. 9

sufferers together in considerable numbers, and for a consid-
erable time ; while they are lessened by associating them with
ordinary and normal persons. When, therefore, it seems nec-
essary, for purposes of instruction and training, to gather a
large number of such sufferers from different parts of the
country, their association with each other should be kept at its
minimum, and their association with ordinary persons carried
to its maximum.

Second. It is more economical to educate blind children
and youth together, than apart, if we count only the first out-
lay, and the cost during one generation.

Third. A blind boy or girl gains in knowledge, in character,
especially in self-reliance, by dwelling in close intimacy with
other blind children and youth during a certain period of time ;
but afterwards he gains less than he would by close asso-
ciation with ordinary persons, and under ordinary social influ-
ences.

As a general rule, the special advantages may be gained in
a year ; after that the child or youth would do better by living
at home, being instructed in a common school, and subjected to
common social influences, than under the roof of a special
institution.

Sometimes, however, the necessary instruction, especially in
music, cannot be had in the country. Besides, it too often hap-
pens that the home and social influences are positively bad.

Fourth. The advantages gained, after the first year, by the
association of many blind persons in one family, are in spite of,
rather than in consequence of, such association.

Fifth. The manifest advantages which may be gained in
the instruction and education of ordinary children and youth
by associating the sexes, and profiting by their happy influence
upon each other, cannot be had in the case of the blind, without
violating the plain principle, that an establishment for educating
the infirm of any class should not furnish greater facilities and
temptations for intermarriage among the members of that class,
than they would have had, if left to grow up in their respective
neighborhoods.

Sixth. That upon the whole it is desirable to have a stricter
separation of sexes in an educational institution for the blind
than in one for ordinary children and youth ; but that this can-

10 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

not be had while they inhabit the same building without a
severity of discipline that defeats its own purpose. There
ought, therefore, to be at least two buildings, entirely separate
from and out of ear-shot of each other.

Seventh. That to secure the greatest amount of good with
the least amount of evil, there should be as many separate
dwelling-houses as there are tens or dozens of pupils ; and that
these should be arranged and conducted like common dwelling-
houses, save that they may be under central supervision, and
supplied from a common commissariat.

History of the Past Year.
Number of Inmates. — Probable Increase.

The number of inmates reported at the close of the last finan-
cial year was one hundred and twenty-seven. During the year
fifty-four have been admitted, and nineteen discharged, leaving
the present number one hundred and sixty-two, which exceeds
that of any previous year.

There is reason to suppose that it will be still further
increased, and that more applicants will present themselves
than can be accommodated in the present building.

Indeed, it can hardly well be otherwise. The advantages of
the Institution are becoming known throughout New England.
The facilities for travel are increasing. Parents are less reluc-
tant than formerly to send their children far from home.

There are at least as many blind in New England as there
are deaf-mutes, and they are equally in need of, and equally
benefited by special instruction. But the long existence of the
School for Mutes has made the feasibility of teaching them well
known in every part of New England, so that more than two
hundred and fifty are sent to the Connecticut Asylum, and to
the School at Northampton. When the feasibility and advan-
tage of educating the blind shall be equally well known, there
will be as many applications for admission to this Institution.
Present indications warrant the belief that within five years, at
least two hundred and fifty blind children and youths will
require the means of education at the hands of the State.

1868.] ANNUAL REPORT. 11

Regimen, Health, &c.

Careful observation shows that the blind, as a class, have less
than average constitutional vigor ; that is, vital force.

In many cases it would seem that the original germinal force
was insufficient to perfect the organization in all its parts ; and
that the imperfection, reacting upon the system, impedes its
due development. The vital force, whether original or super-
induced, being minus, of course there will be not only less than
average power of action, but less power of resisting destructive
agencies, and of retarding waste of tissues ; and therefore it is
to be expected that the blind should be more liable to disease
and early decay, than the average of men.

In many cases this deficiency of vital force may be remedied
by a proper course of life and by special training, so that the
individual may even rise above the average standard of health
and strength, because ordinary persons do not take such pre-
cautions, and never reach their attainable standard. It is hard
however to persuade the young that the degree of health and
strength which they enjoy is below what they ought to enjoy.

These are not general speculations, nor merely a priori infer-
ences, because statistical observations, running over a consider-
able time, and embracing a considerable number of cases prove
them. Some such observations were published in our report
for 1859.

Considering the fact above mentioned, the general health of
the inmates during the past year has been very good. There
have been some cases of pretty severe disease, but none of death.

The climatic influences are good.

The diet is plain, but abundant and nutritious, and it
needs be so. Either from constitutional causes, or sed-
entary habits resulting from their infirmity, — probably from
both, — the circulation, respiration and other functions less
closely dependent upon the brain and nerves, are languid in most
blind persons, while the cerebral functions are comparatively ac-
tive. The blind, therefore, at least during the period of their edu-
cation, require a nutritious diet, with a preponderance of carbon-
aceous or heat-giving elements, and of phosphoric elements to
supply the great waste of the nervous system caused by mental
activity.

The whole diet should be what is called" full" and stimulating ;
but the stimulus should come from good food well digested,

12 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

which introduces new force to supply that wasted, and never
from alcoholic drink, malt liquors, tea, coffee and the like ; for
these act as a spur acts upon a tired horse, exciting extra action,
surely followed by undue exhaustion, which calls for more spur.

The staple articles of diet are wheaten bread, butter, milk,
fresh meat, and fresh fish.

Another important requirement is that of sufficient bodily
exercise. The rules of the Institution require a good deal of
this in the play-ground, or upon the streets ; also during the
recess at the end of every school hour, which should be de-
voted to an airing upon the piazzas. It is difficult, however,
to exact enough of it, because of two things. First, there
are many among the blind who, with considerable activity
of mind, have a sort of molluscous lumpishness of body.
Ordinary boys kept studying closely an hour, spring up at the
signal for recess, like those funny puppets that pop out of boxes
when the lid is loosed, and in a moment they are tumbling over
each other, or standing on their heads in the play-ground ; but
many of the blind sit, and hang on to the thread of thought,
and retain their teacher with questions about the lessons.
Others stretch and yawn, or creep like a snail reluctantly from
school. Second, the teachers themselves, and those who have
the immediate direction of the pupils, are apt, like fond, indul-
gent mothers, to regard what children wish, rather than what
they want.

Rules and regulations, deliberately formed for the real good
of the pupils, are hard to be enforced by the reason against the
pleading of the heart for indulgence.

The main object of the Institution
Is to train up the pupils in virtuous and industrious habits ; to
give them useful knowledge ; to cultivate and strengthen their
mental and bodily powers by regular and constant exercises,
adapted to their peculiar condition ; to make them hardy
and self-reliant, so that they may go out into the world
determined not to eat the bread of charity, but to earn a liveli-
hood by any honest work ; and to live and die anywhere rather
than in an asylum or almshouse.

At the end of five or six years the most of them go to their
respective homes, and find some way of being useful.

1868.] ANNUAL REPORT. 13

A certain number have so much talent for music, and have,
besides, the personal qualities necessary for success as profes-
sional musicians, that they are specially trained with a view of
becoming such. They have special instruction and remain as
much beyond the usual period as may be necessary. They
form the special Musical Class. Then there are a few others
in each general class who cannot find occupation in the coun-
try, either because they have no relatives or friends there, no
capacity for household or ordinary work, or they lack the qual-
ities essential for success. Such graduates from the Institution,
leave it as a place of residence, are employed in the workshop
upon wages, and provide for themselves. This gives the divis-
ion of the establishment into School or Juvenile Depart-
ment, Music Department, and Work Department.

It will be seen from this general account that the establish-
ment is in no sense an asylum. That part of its title is a mis-
nomer. It aims, not to segregate the blind into a class
apart, but rather to prevent that consummation which has too
often followed the kind but unwise efforts of those who would
fain lighten, as far as they can, one of the heaviest burdens
which men are called upon to bear.

All the new-comers of proper age and condition are received
into the household and remain members thereof as long as
seems necessary. The usual period is five years.

It is, however, a cardinal principle that the relations which
the pupils contract with the Institution shall not sever their re-
lations with parents, relatives and neighborhood, and thereby
forfeit their claims for a home. Their friends must retain certain
oversight and responsibility ; must keep them supplied with
clothing ; and must receive and care for them during vacations.

The day is divided between study in the school-room, with
oral instruction ; lessons and practice in vocal and instrumen-
tal music, to promote their general culture ; and work at some
simple mechanical occupation to give manual dexterity, and
prepare them for a trade, if such is to be their calling.

The School, or Juvenile Department.
All the children, and almost every blind inmate, spend sev-
eral hours a day in a school-room arranged and furnished like
the ordinary common schools of the State.

14 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

The school is under charge of four young ladies who hare
won the confidence of the Trustees by many years of faithful
service ; and the affection of the pupils, by patient and loving
attention to their work.

They teach them to read embossed books ; to write with a
pencil in common and legible letters ; to learn topographical
geography by feeling outline maps ; and to cipher upon metal
frames, with movable type in lieu of slate and pencil.

Globes, maps and all the various devises and apparatus de-
vised to facilitate instruction by help of the touch, are amply
provided.

The main reliance, however, is and must be upon oral in-
struction.

The course embraces all the branches taught in our best
common schools ; and most of the pupils come to understand
them pretty well ; better, probably, than ordinary scholars in
school, because, from the necessity of the case, blind children
give closer mental application. They more generally love
study, and they are precocious thinkers. Some persons do not
discover, until years after leaving school, that the lessons which
they committed to memory, and the rules of grammar or logic
which they recited glibly, really have a deep meaning ; but
blind scholars generally go down to the root of the matter, and
understand the meaning of whatever they learn.

The Domestic Department
is conducted upon the plan usually adopted in large boarding
schools for the two sexes ; with a constant aim to make it as
nearly like an ordinary family, and a comfortable house as
may be.

From the necessity of the case, the approach cannot be so
near as is desirable.

The long services of the matron, Miss Moulton, and of her
assistants, make them valuable assistants in the general work ;
and their uniform kindness causes them to be regarded by the
pupils in the light of mothers and sisters.

The Musical Department
has been in satisfactory condition under the able management
of Mr. Campbell, whose earnest, hopeful, and courageous spirit
pervades every part of the establishment.

1868.] ANNUAL REPORT. 15

The able assistant teachers of vocal and instrumental music,
the thorough instruction, the numerous and costly instruments
provided within the Institution, and the extraordinary facilities
which its location affords for hearing the best music, all these
are not only a source of pleasure to the younger pupils, but to
those blind persons who seek to perfect themselves in that art,
the study of which is most congenial to their taste, and the
practice of which is most likely to give them the means of
livelihood.

Peculiar circumstances call for more extended remarks upon
this subject.

The experience of the past ten or twelve years shows several
things which should be carefully considered in the future
guidance of the Institution, and in the arrangements of the
musical department, especially should new buildings be erected.

The sharpened competition for livelihood by simple handi-
craft, such as making mats, brooms and the like ; the increase
of foreigners, especially Germans, whose wives and children
work in the evenings, and at odd hours, upon such trades,
and the invention of machinery, superseding the hand, are still
further narrowing the already small circle of occupations by
which the blind could earn their bread. Further remarks will be
made upon this matter in speaking of the work department ;
suffice it to say here that this fact strengthens all the consid-
erations in favor of enlarging the number of pupils who are
selected for special musical instruction and training, and of
making that instruction more liberal and thorough.

In former years, although the results of the instruction in music
were upon the whole gratifying, they were unsatisfactory with re-
spect to the number of graduates who turned their instruction
to profit. It gave to all a certain degree of culture, and an
abundant source of pleasure ; but gave the means of livelihood
to the few only who had special musical talent, and the energy
and address necessary to enable a blind teacher to compete
with others. Within a few years, however, there has been a
marked change for the better. More of the graduates succeed
in earning a livelihood by teaching music, by playing the organ,
and by tuning pianos. In some cases their success is very grat-
ifying.

This success, so superior to that of former years, is owing to
several circumstances, but mainly to two. First, Mr. Campbell,

16 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

being himself blind, and knowing by his own personal expe-
rience the real wants and capacities of the blind, has in-
troduced a more laborious and thorough drill. The pupils are
not allowed to relax effort by the thought that they may turn
their infirmity to account, and may expect the public to tolerate
any kind of music in a blind musician.

The novelty of the subject, the ignorance of the real capacity
of the blind, and the ready sympathy in their favor, crowded
the market with those who lacked talent and industry, and
whose only stock in trade was their blindness. This is passing
away. A blind musician is no longer a novelty. It begins to
be understood that a blind man, who has fair musical ability,
may attain excellence and get a livelihood if he works as hard
as other men work ; and he will be required to do so as a con-
dition of his support.

The pupils are made to realize that their infirmity is a posi-
tive and very great disadvantage, which can indeed be over-
come by severe and long-continued labor, but by nothing else.

Another reason why the recent graduates of the Institution
have had greater success than the former ones in getting a living
by music is, that they have had greater opportunity of hearing
good music of good musicians, and have more fully profited
by it.

The instruments within the Institution have indeed been
more numerous and more valuable ; the instruction has been
more efficient, and the practice more thorough than in former
years ; but, besides this, the opportunity for attendance upon
public performances of various kinds has been greatly increased?
and the pupils have fully availed themselves of it. The blind
have learned by experience what others learned before them :
that the best instruction, the most perfect instruments, the
most laborious and protracted practice, will not suffice for the
attainment of excellence in the art ; they must also hear
habitually the music of the best musicians.

To hear a great variety of music, performed by masters of
high excellence in their several parts, is not only exceedingly
pleasant to the blind, but it is of positive and lasting advantage
to those who are to make the practice of music their calling.
It trains and improves the ear ; refines the taste ; strengthens
the judgment, and lays the foundation for sound criticism.

1868.] ANNUAL REPORT. 17

True, it sometimes demolishes self-esteem, and awakens to a
painful consciousness of inferiority many who had been
flattered, or who had flattered themselves, into a belief that
they were superior performers. But this is wholesome, if it
inspires resolution for hard work.

The pupils of this Institution have had the full advantage of
this kind of training, especially of late years.

Those who have been selected for receiving a thorough
course of instruction in music, will have during the ensuing
winter (judging by the experience of past years,) opportunities
for selecting from the following

Programme of Public Musical Performances.

Sixteen orchestral rehearsals of the Harvard Musical
Association.

Ten of their grand classical concerts.

Thirty performances upon the great organ.

Four concerts of the Boston Musical Conservatory.

Four concerts of the New England Musical Conservatory.

Ten oratorios by Handel and Haydn Society.

Twenty chamber concerts by the Mendelssohn Quintette
Club, and by individual artists.

This presents a great variety from which to choose ; because
by the generous liberality of the several societies, and of many
artists, most of the above performances are free to our advanced
and meritorious pupils ; and a large discount from the usual
price of admission is made at almost all public musical
entertainments.

Indeed, most of the musical societies and artists of Boston
contribute largely to the enterprise of educating the blind ;
not merely by facilities for admission to their rehearsals and
concerts, but by ready and encouraging sympathy. Praise and
thanks are due to all, but especially to the Harvard Musical
Association, and to the Orchestral Union.

Besides the above constant and regular performances, Boston
is favored frequently by visits of some opera troupe, and of
eminent individual artists — stars of greater or less magnitude.
The advanced pupils can attend most of their performances
gratuitously, or at reduced prices ; and they are not prevented
3

18 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

by cost from attending any that are really useful ; so there is
hardly an eminent artist with whose style and manner they are
not familiar.

Owing to the introduction of vocal music into common
schools, and to other causes, Boston has become eminent
among our cities by prevalence of musical taste and culture.
It is the centre of a large circle of towns and villages, in
which the same taste and culture prevail extensively. The
lovers of music resort to the city to gratify their tastes, and
attend public performances. This gives the double advantage
of forming a social atmosphere favorable to the study of music,
and of creating a market where persons of musical ability and
accomplishment can find employment.

This population is disposed not only to be charitable to the
blind, but to be just. Those therefore who bring really valu-
able services, will find a market for them. Many of our
graduates find this to be so. But they are beginning to find,
also, that the people like to do things directly, not by indirec-
tion, and to call them by their right names. With them, busi-
ness is business ; and though they willingly pay, once or twice,
much more for the lessons, or the music of a blind man, than they
would pay another for the same thing, they will not do so per-
sistently. They will pay money to help the blind, and set it
down to the account of charity. But they will not pay for, and
listen to poor music. And especially they will not engage a
poor teacher for their children, when they can get a better one
for the same or even more money.

Such are some of the advantages and facilities which our
Institution presents to the blind for the acquirement of musical
education, and afterwards for finding employment ; and they
are growing every day.

They are set forth in a grateful, not a boastful spirit ; much
less in a spirit of invidious comparison. But they exist. They
are the fruits of seeds planted by private benevolence and leg-
islative liberality. They ought to be gratefully acknowledged,
and publicly known. Indeed, a report of the Institution which
ignored them, would not be a full report. It has always been
administered with a view, first and directly to educate and train
for usefulness the young blind of New England ; second and
indirectly, to promote in every way the cause of the education

1868.] ANNUAL REPORT. 19

of the blind everywhere. There are scattered through the
country young blind persons of musical tastes and abilities,
who are willing to work hard, and who are capable of becoming
good and useful teachers, by having the necessary facilities and
opportunities ; and if they do not find them at home, they should
know where they can be found.

Work Department.

A less encouraging report must be made of this part of the
establishment, which is intended to furnish work and pay wages
to such blind men and women as have finished their course of
instruction, but have no means of working at home with any
profit.

It was never intended to make this department so attractive
as to induce any blind youth to remain and work in the city
who could by any possibility gain a livelihood at home in the
country. If it had been an object to increase rather than to
keep down the number, it might have been carried up to one
hundred with comparatively little cost.

It will be recollected that the workshop has been carried on
for many years independently of the school. It has been of
inestimable value to the blind, directly and indirectly. Directly
by giving work and wages to thirty men and women, upon an
average, and enabling them to live independently, and in their
own way at their own homes : indirectly, by proving that if an
arrangement can be made by which a blind workman can sell his
mats, brooms, mattresses, and the like, and get the retail price,
without paying profit to a middle man and a retailer, he may
earn a decent livelihood, without wasting his time and sacrific-
ing his self-respect, as he must almost certainly do who goes
about and peddles his wares. No matter what their value may
be, people consider that by purchasing them they are doing an
act of charity, and indirectly giving alms ; while the peddler is
encouraged in a sort of vagabondage, destructive of industrious
habits, and in a sort of dependence upon favor which is
destructive of self-respect. At the bottom it is alms-giving and
alms-taking, and both parties feel it so and suffer its ill effects.

During the past ten years the workshop has paid to work-
men and women, in cash, as their wages, upon an average, over
$4,500 a year; and during the past year it paid them $8,575.31.

20 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

It is becoming more and more difficult for blind workmen to
support themselves by handicraft, owing to the inventions and
improvements which supersede the use of the hand. Twenty
years ago our workmen could earn fair wages at brush-making ;
now they can hardly earn their salt.

Five years ago they made and sold at good profit thousands
and thousands of door mats ; to-day a machine has been con-
trived which does in a few hours what a blind man could do in
a week.

The men's workshop can still be carried on with great
advantage to those who need the help it can give them, to help
themselves.

The Laundry,
however, opened several years ago, as a part of the work depart-
ment, proves too costly. It requires the employment of too
many women who see. The Director advises the abandonment
of custom work, and that some other employment be found for
those women who will have to be discharged.

Printing for the Blind.

This important and interesting work has not been carried on
as vigorously as is to be wished, owing to lack of funds. The
press, however, has not been altogether idle.

An edition of Guyot's Geography has been printed, and
it will be very useful not only to the blind of this, but of
all other institutions in the United States. Such works are
very much wanted. The Bible and several religious books
have been printed here ; and the books printed for the blind in
England are mostly all catechisms, prayer-books, and the like.

School-books, therefore, are most needed now. One of the
school-books issued from our press many years ago, but out of
print, has been reprinted during the past year.

The most important work, however, is an edition of the Old
Curiosity Shop, which is nearly through the press. All readers
of the English language are indebted to Mr. Charles Dickens
for this touching and instructive story ; because in it, as in all
his works, he strengthens the hearts and hopes of the lowly and
unfortunate, by showing that virtue may blossom and bring
forth the best fruits of human existence, under the most

1868.] ANNUAL REPORT. 21

adverse circumstances. But the blind in particular will be
indebted to his generosity for a special effort to lighten and
cheer their darkness by putting it at their fingers' ends.

It is to be hoped that this example of Mr. Dickens may
attract the attention of the rich and benevolent ; and be the
means of increasing to a respectable size the library of the
blind.

Application to the Legislature for a Special Appropriation
for Building, and its Results.

It has been repeatedly set forth in the annual reports of this
institution that an attempt should be made to reorganize the
establishment, and to bring it nearer to what may be called the
cottage or family system, whenever a favorable opportunity
should occur.

The chief obstacle to the realization of this plan has been that
the buildings and grounds on which a great deal of money was
invested, were adapted to what may be called the congregate
or common system, and they could not be made to suit the
family or cottage system.

The main building, which had been built for a hotel, was
altered at considerable cost, to carry out the congregate system.
All the new institutions for the blind in the country were
built expressly for the same system. When, therefore, experi-
ence had shown its defects ; and reflection had convinced many
persons that a different one would better meet the peculiar
wants of the blind, the existence of the buildings, the capital
invested, and the routine established, proved as they do in sim-
ilar cases, formidable barriers in the way of the adopting a
better one, or even making material changes in the administra-
tion of the old one. The inherent defect and evils of the sys-
tem were built into and perpetuated by the very structure. In
consequence of this organic defect, it comes to pass that a large
proportion of the cost of the administration, both in money and
in brain power, is occasioned by efforts to prevent or to coun-
teract inconveniences and evils growing out of the system
itself.

The Institution has not been rich enough to make the desir-
able change, but so strong was the conviction of its necessity,
and so firm the belief in its final attainment, that several

22 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

desirable enlargements and improvements were postponed, or
only partially made. But the necessity of these improvements
became so pressing, that the Trustees made application to the
legislature for aid in 1867.

A special appropriation of fifteen thousand dollars was made,
upon the condition, however, that at least an equal sum should
be raised from other sources to finish the projected improve-
ments.

This brought the whole matter under close and careful con-
sideration. The plan proposed was to dispose of the men's
workshop, which is now on a lot on Broadway, opposite the
main building, and to build a new workshop, also a laundry for
women, upon the main lot. These buildings were to face on
H Street, and on Fourth Street, and to have their entrances
there, and yet be accessible in the rear from the rear of the
main building. This arrangement would bring all the depart-
ments of the Institution compactly together upon one lot, and
yet leave them separate from each other, so far as the in-
mates are concerned. The workmen and workwomen could go
to their respective homes without entering the juvenile depart-
ment, or the yards of the school proper.

The peculiar configuration of the grounds favored this plan.
There is a steep bank, in some places forty feet high, between
the sidewalks of the adjoining streets and the top of the level
on which the main building stands. This leaves nearly twenty
thousand feet of land in steep banks, and therefore unavailable.
By cutting perpendicularly down from the edge of this level to
the level of the sidewalks sufficient space would be gained for
a long and narrow workshop and a laundry, without taking up
a foot of land now available. This was undoubtedly the best
plan that could be adopted for putting the buildings and the
grounds into a condition favorable for administering the Insti-
tution upon the present or congregate system.

Careful estimates of the costs, and definite proposals, showed
that the buildings could be built for thirty-five thousand dol-
lars. A survey was then made of the main building, with a view
to ascertain how much would be required to put it in complete
order, and keep it in order, during five years. It was found to
be sound and substantial from foundation to roof-tree, but
owing to the extent of the piazzas, the need of paint and other

1868.] ANNUAL REPORT. 23

adjuncts, at least fourteen thousand dollars more would be
needed within the next five years. Add to this a suitable steam
apparatus for warming and ventilating the whole building,
which has long been needed for the comfort, health and even
safety of the inmates, for which eleven thousand dollars would
be a low estimate, making, in all, sixty thousand dollars. Of
this sum the legislature would appropriate fifteen thousand
dollars ; as much more, at least, could have been obtained by
the sale of the workshop lot and building ; and the balance
might have been raised by subscription.

It seemed, however, a formidable sum to expend upon im-
provements of the ground and buildings. It was felt, moreover,
that although the improvements would contribute greatly to the
comfort and the advantages of the inmates, and would promote
the economical and efficient administration of the Institution
upon the present system, yet they would not adapt the premises
to the better system so long contemplated ; nay, that they
might retard, indefinitely, the period of its adoption.

Then there came the sudden and large demand for land in
the neighborhood, which made it certain that the estate could
be sold for a much larger sum than ever before.

These considerations brought up the question whether this
was not a more favorable opportunity than would be likely
again to occur for re-modelling the Institution, and introducing
all the improvements which an experience of thirty years have
shown to be desirable. This question was decided in the af-
firmative after a good deal of thought and discussion ; and a
resolution was passed by the Trustees not to draw the sum ap-
propriated by the legislature, but go back to it with a full expla-
nation of the wants of the Institution, and to make an appeal
to it, and to the public, for all the aid that might be necessary
to meet those wants fully.

The special reasons for this change, and the particulars of
the plan, will be urged before the legislature, but a brief al-
lusion to them may be made here.

Re-organization of the Institution.
After deciding upon the principles upon which an establish-
ment shall be conducted, the next thing is to see how the neces-
sary machinery shall be arranged for carrying out these principles.

24 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

The material machinery is mainly the building or buildings, for
these are to the spirit of the establishment, almost what body is
to soul. In selection of site and arrangement of buildings
there are general considerations applicable to all establishments
for persons laboring under a common infirmity, and there are
special ones applicable particularly to the blind.

The general considerations are those of salubrity, accessibil-
ity, market, cost, and the like.

In most of these respects a healthy city suburb and the open
country are about alike.

The special considerations are the comparative advantages
given by different locations ; first, for training and educating
the blind ; second, for finding market for what they can make,
or for what they can do while pupils ; third, for finding perma-
nent employment after they leave.

The first are rather of a moral character ; the others, material.

If the blind, or the mutes, or any class distinguished by a com-
mon infirmity or want, are to be gathered from their homes in
various parts of the country and assembled for instruction and
training, the place should be selected with a view to their con-
dition and wants as a class. Neither the wishes and interests
of individuals or of communities, nor even considerations of
first cost should avail much ; for it will be found that in this
as in other like enterprises, individual wishes are only of mo-
mentary weight ; and that the cheapest place is. where the work
can be best done. No company would be induced to locate a
factory requiring water-power, far away from a stream, by a
gift of money, nor by cheapness of land, nor by beauty of
outlook, nor by the wishes of the community, nor by desire to
have manufacturing establishments equally distributed over
the State. They seek a site which combines most advantages
for doing their special work. So should it be in the choice of
location for institutions of public beneficence. Location and
structure should be made with a view to the happiness and the
advantages of the special class of unfortunates for whom it is
erected. But alas ! these are often overlooked ; and the estab-
lishment is located to secure some gift, or to please some neigh-
borhood ; and it is set upon a hill, and built rather with a view
to architectural beauty and display, than to the comfort and
convenience of the inmates. Something of the ostentatious

1868.] ANNUAL REPORT. 25

spirit, which abroad requires charity boys to be clad in blue
coats and leathern breeches, often creeps out in the location and
structure of institutions of public charity, to the detriment of
the inmates.

Blindness is at best a sore calamity, and has its necessary
evil consequences ; but that excessive sensibility, which marks
the blind as a class, (especially in this country,) and which
makes life painful to some, is not one of them. It comes not
of their infirmity, but of their treatment.

The condition of dependence, — the rank among paupers, to
which so many in Europe are born, reconciles most of the blind
there to their social banishment ; and they sit in the seat of Barti-
meus, and are- more or less happy according to the amount of
alms which they receive. Our political institutions develop
the natural aspiration for individual independence, and the de-
sire of social equality ; and the blind man partakes of these aspi-
rations and desires ; nay ! they are even intensified in him.
When, therefore, they do not have their legitimate qualifica-
tion he feels the disappointment more keenly than others do,
and realizes the full weight of his infirmity. Never ade-
quately conceiving the pleasures of sight, he considers the
lack of it rather a loss of material advantages than of spiritual
enjoyment. But he does adequately conceive, — perhaps he over-
rates, the importance and the pleasure of social relationship
upon terms of entire equality, and he constantly regrets his
infirmity as a bar to. that. It is not that his blindness makes him
ill at ease and unhappy in society ; it is the thought that others
consider him awkward and inferior. This is as natural as that
men wear very complacently an ugly wen, or wart, covered up
under the waistcoat, which would mortify them if growing
upon the face.

This feeling, which is especially strong in blind girls, should
always be regarded .as much as is possible, in all the arrange-
ments for their education. They would like that the house
they live in should be like other houses ; and especially that it
should be undistinguished by anything which makes it look
like a house for the blind.

The main question with regard to location is, shall it be in
the city, or in the country ?

The common idea is that public charitable institutions should

26 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

be in the country. There are many reasons why it is not so
for an institution for the blind.

The constant aim in teaching and training them should be
to counteract the tendency which their infirmity has to prevent
the natural and harmonious development of character, and to
give it a peculiar warp or twist. Without suppressing natural
individualism, we should aim to prevent what may be called
blind peculiarities in the individual ; and to lessen the tendency
of the whole to segregation into a separate class, distinguished
by the common circumstance of blindness. •

In a word, the aim should be to obliterate the distinction be-
tween them and ordinary persons ; and to fuse them in undis-
tinguishable union with ordinary society.

To this end they should have, while young, constant and
familiar intercourse with ordinary persons, and constant and
familiar relations with ordinary society, and as much as possi-
ble with various phases of social life. These of course can be
had much more easily in. a dense than in a sparse population.

Again ; that sort of intellectual magnetism which pervades
the atmosphere where a multitude of cultivated people congre-
gate, and which gives a high zest to good city life, is felt and
relished keenly by the blind. It supplies the lack of that out-
ward stimulus to inward sensibility which sight gives to ordi-
nary people.

But even in view of physical influences upon the bodily
health of the blind, there is much to be said in favor of a city
life.

Friends of this Institution sometimes express a wish that it
might be removed to the country with a view to the enjoyment
of its freedom and its pleasures, of its fresh air, and ample space
for play-grounds and exercise.

It is to be remembered, however, that most of the beauty
which constitutes the charm of the country is lost to the blind.
The grass is not green ; the skies are not blue ; the rocks are
not gray ; the water is not silvery ; the flowers and foliage are
not of rainbow hues ; nor does the hourly and monthly turn-
ing of the kaleidoscope bring continual novelty, and perpetual
beauty to them, as it does to others.

As to fresh air, it is hard to find habitable places in Massa-
chusetts where it is fresher than over the three peninsulas of

1868.] ANNUAL REPORT. 27

Boston, East Boston and South Boston ; and statistics prove that
nowhere in the State is it more salubrious than in the latter.

Moreover, a location in a large but not over-crowded city has,
in some respects, advantages over one in the country, even in
regard to those facilities and inducements for exercise in the
open air, which ought to exist in every educational establish-
ment, especially in those for the blind, whose infirmity discour-
ages locomotion.

An Institution with an acre inclosed for a play-ground, and
an unlimited extent of good side-walks, presents, during the
course of the year, more facilities and more inducements for
the blind to walk about, than does one in the country, with ever
so great an extent of land.

The blind man moves about freely and rapidly in familiar
places, if he is sure that things about him are to-day just in the
state in which he left them yesterday.

The side-walks of a well regulated city afford him landmarks
that do not change with the days, nor with the seasons. He
knows the curb-stones, and the lamp-posts, the gutters and the
pavements, and all the landmarks, and feels the firm brick
under his feet. He measures the distance from one street to
another, and knows when he comes to a crossing by the differ-
ent feeling in the air, as a cross street or a court opens on his
right or on his left, even before he steps down from the side-
walk. In all weathers, in all seasons, his foot-marks are
unchanged, except when the new fallen snow obliterates them
and confuses him, but this only for a few hours. If he is expert
and hardy, he learns his way about, and can find places to which
he has been guided two or three times. He seldom runs
against people, for, unless he foolishly affects to walk like them,
they recognize him instantly for a blind man, and dodge out of
his way. The very monotony and regularity of the streets, so
tedious to the eye, give comfort and safety for the foot.

It is not so on the country road. There the variety so charm-
ing to the eye, perplexes and bewilders the foot. It is full of
inequalities of surface and of soil. Here is a ridge to be
stepped over; there a puddle to be stepped into. Here is
grass, next gravel, next a rock. Here the path is straight
and broad ; there it is narrow and crowded up to the wall by
the curving of the wheel tracks.

28 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

It is the same with the ear-marks. A stone wall gives one
kind of echo, a rail fence another ; a barn, a house, a bank,
reflect back different sounds, which the blind man's ear detects.
So do the different kinds of substance he treads upon — now
grass, now gravel, now hard earth, next soft soil. The reso-
nance of all these becomes affected and varied at unequal dis-
tance by overhanging trees.

If all these various objects and conditions would only remain
stationary and the same, he would soon become familiar with
them all, and walk unhesitatingly ; but they change from day to
day and from season to season. To-day his foot feels the dry, firm
soil ; to-morrow flounders in a heap of dust ; the next day sinks
in mire. In the spring there is wet and mud ; in summer, soft
grass ; in autumn, dry herbage and dust ; while in winter, snow
utterly changes or obliterates all the old foot-marks and ear-
marks, and introduces new and strange ones. No sooner do these
begin to grow familiar than they vanish and are replaced by oth-
ers. Where the foot feels a hard-trodden snow-path to-day, it
sinks into slosh to-morrow ; and it dares not tread firmly
anywhere,, or at any time, lest it should slip upon the treacher-
ous ice.

It is well that every blind man who can afford it, should have
some one to lead him about ; indeed, he must do so in strange
and unfamiliar places ; but every blind child and youth, whether
he can afford to pay a leader or not, should be trained to go
about alone, if only for the hardihood and self-reliance which
it gives him.

The location of our Institution is, in all these respects, most
felicitous. It presents great facilities and great inducements
for out-of-door exercise, not merely in the play-grounds, — for
all artificial play-grounds become monotonous and tasteless, —
but also in the neighborhood. It is in a suburb not densely
populated, but with broad, straight streets, crossing each other
at right angles, all paved and finished. It is upon a broad ave-
nue, with very wide side-walks, which run in a straight line
nearly a mile each way. It is within easy walking distance of
churches of all denominations, and of the Music Hall and other
buildings in which operas, concerts and musical performances
of various kinds are given frequently, morning, afternoon and
evening during the season.

1808.] ANNUAL EEPORT. 29

All pupils go regularly to their respective churches ; dozens
and scores of them walk frequently to the centre of the city to
attend the performances ; and as there are no steam rail tracks
to cross, they go fearlessly back and forth.

This they have done for years, getting an occasional fall, or
bump, or bruise ; just enough to give them both hardihood and
caution ; but never a serious injury.

One such walk, upon a pleasant errand, is more wholesome
than a half-dozen taken expressly for health.

Then there are horse-cars running by the front-door every
five minutes, from six in the morning to midnight.

They who suppose that a location ten miles from the city, on
the line of a steam road, would be practically as near the Music
Hall, as one two miles by street cars, forget that steam cars are
always so formidable to the blind that they never ought to ven-
ture near them without a guide, while they may, and do, jump
on to, and off of horse-cars easily.

The list of concerts and other musical performances, given
under the head of Musical Department, will show how impor-
tant to our pupils is easy access to the centre of the city.

Plan of new Buildings.

The Director has proposed the following outline of a plan for
new buildings.

One large central building with two wings. In the main
part a chapel, music hall, and rooms for rehearsal. In each wing
twenty-five rooms for practising upon musical instruments.
On one side of this central edifice, a building with school-rooms,
recitation rooms and workshop for boys ; on the other side a
similar one for girls.

If necessary, in order to lessen the building expenses, each
of these buildings might have accommodations similar to those
of an ordinary house, for one ordinary family, and a few pupils
board with it.

Then, within the same lot, two, three or more cottages, ar-
ranged like ordinary dwelling-houses, each with a separate
garden and yard. These cottage dwellings to front upon the
street, and their yards in the rear to connect with the main
yard or general play-ground. The number of these cottages
to be according to the number of pupils. Each cottage to be

30 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

the dwelling and home of from six to twelve pupils, of different
ages and capacities, who are to be taught in the central school,
and trained to work in the shops. Whether it will be better to
have these houses furnished by the Institution, and let out to
ordinary families, who will board the pupils ; or to have them
managed by persons hired for the purpose and supplied from
the common commissariat, is doubtful. Much may be said
in favor of each plan. Which will be best, upon the whole,
can only be settled by experience. In either case there
ought to be training schools for domestic work, nearly
the whole of which can be done by the pupils. Among the
graduates of the Institution are many men who actually do all
the work about a small farm, with the assistance of a boy who
sees ; and there are women who do almost all kinds of house-
hold work.

Few can become so expert as these, but all can do something ;
and all should be trained, and exercised and accustomed to do
what they can. The facilities for such training should exist in
every Institution. They cannot be found in great establish-
ments, where cooking is done by wholesale ; where tea-kettles and
tongs are never known ; and where much of ordinary domestic
service is carried on by clock-work and steam. Our pupils are
not destined to pass their lives in any such public establish-
ment, but in private houses with ordinary families ; and their
training during the impressible years of youth should be such
as best to fit them for ordinary life.

Such an arrangement of buildings and grounds as is suggested
above would favor the administration of an Institution upon a
system which may be considered as a compromise between two
extremes. Some advocate an establishment which looks only to
teaching blind children in a special school, and leaves them in all
other respects subject to common social influences. Those whose
parents live near by, to board at home. Those from a distance
to have a certain sum allowed to pay their board in ordinary
families. The whole responsibility for their religious, moral, and
social education, to be thrown upon their parents and friends.

This is one extreme ; and though' it may seem radical
and impractical to most people, it does not seem so to many
who have hardihood themselves, and who know practically
what many of the blind can do, when obliged to put forth all
their energies.

1868.] ANNUAL KEPORT. 31

The other extreme is that presented by the public institutions
for the blind in the United States. Young blind persons are
gathered from all parts of the State ; they are cut off from fam-
ily and home influences ; they are segregated from general so-
ciety, and formed into a class apart. They live a monastic sort
of life in one great building ; eat at a common table, sleep in
common dormitories, and have very little association except
with each other, during six or seven years of the most impres-
sionable period of their lives.

They derive, upon the whole, great advantages ; but it is
rather in spite of, than by reason of, these unfavorable features
of the system ; the most objectionable of which evidently grow
from the fact that all live in one building.

Financial.

All moneys received on account of the Institution, from
whatever quarter, are paid into the treasury. All moneys paid
out, for whatever purposes, are paid by the director. His bills
are audited monthly by a committee of trustees. They make
drafts upon the treasurer, who pays out no money except upon
their order.

The Trustees take this opportunity of expressing their thanks
to Messrs. George S. Hale and Thomas T. Bouve, who have
acted for several years as auditors of accounts ; and to Mr.
Wm. Claflin, who has long served as treasurer.

The Treasurer's account for the year, duly audited, is here-
with presented. The total receipts are $45,155.81, (forty-five
thousand one hundred fifty-five and ^\ dollars.) The total
expenditures were $46,082.30, (forty-six thousand eighty-two
and ^q dollars.)

The Steward's account gives an analysis of the expenses ;
and shows that the indebtedness to the treasurer, and to all
other parties, is less than the sum due from other States for the
education of their beneficiaries, so that the expenses and the re-
ceipts are about equal. The other States pay three hundred dol-
lars for each beneficiary. As this sum covers actual costs, an in-
crease of their numbers will not increase the actual expenses.
It is not so, however, with the beneficiaries of Massachusetts ;
by the terms of the grant, the Institution is to receive and sup-
port gratuitously all beneficiaries of suitable age and character

32 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

who may be recommended by the governor. An increase of
the beneficiaries of Massachusetts will increase the expenditure
without increasing the income. If the number of beneficiaries
should increase considerably, the Trustees will be obliged to ask
for an additional appropriation.

It is to be hoped, however, that a knowledge of the real con-
dition and wants of the Institution will obtain for it a share of
those charitable gifts and bequests which are so common in our
community. The condition of the blind is so pitiable ; it so
readily excites sympathy ; they are, in the providence of God,
so dependent upon their more fortunate fellows ; the opportu-
nity of helping them to help themselves is so tempting ; the
harvest of good which a little seed sown in love is so sure to pro-
duce, that there is no other explanation of the fact that this
Institution does not receive its share of private donations and
bequests, save the prevalence of the mistaken idea that it is
richly endowed, and does not need private aid.

The inventories of real and personal estate are herewith pre-
sented. The total amount of the first is $155,000, of the
second $35,000, making a grand total of $190,000. All this
property is clear of debt.

The Trustees close by commending this establishment for pro-
moting the education, the employment, and the happiness of
the blind, to the consideration of the charitable, — to the patron-
age of the legislature, — and to the favor of Him whose blessing
is ever sure, in the end, to crown honest efforts earnestly made
by any of His children in behalf of their less favored fellows.

SAM'L G. HOWE, Secretary.

1868.]

ANNUAL REPORT.

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INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND.

[Oct.

The undersigned, a Committee appointed to examine the accounts of the
Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, for the year
1867-8, have attended to that duty, and hereby certify that they find the
accounts properly vouched and correctly cast, and that there is a cash bal-
ance due to the Treasurer, from the Institution, of nine hundred and twenty-
six dollars forty-nine cents.

The Treasurer also exhibited to us evidence of title deeds to the following
property belonging to the Institution : —

No. 1, Deed of land in South Boston, dated April, 1844, .

3, " " " dated August, 1848, .
2, " " " dated February, 1847,

4, " " " dated January, 1850,

5, " " " dated July, 1850,
8, " " " dated Apr., 1855, $2,811.50

mortgage canc'd, $1,500

6, " " " dated April, 1855, .

7, " " " dated August, 1855, .
Five bonds, ($1,000 each,) of the New York Central Kailroad

valued at

$755 68

5,500 00

5,000 00

1,762 50

1,020 25

2,811 50

3,710 00

450 00

4,700 00

Boston, Oct. 6, 1868.

$25,709 93
F. W. BIRD,
CHAS. JAS. SPRAGUE,

Auditing Committee.

1868.] ANNUAL REPORT. 35

Detailed Statement of Treasurer's Cash Account.
1867-8. Dr.

To drafts of the Auditors of accounts, Nos. 245 to 254 inclusive, $46,082 30

$75 00

28 00

28 22

131 22

m .

142 50

1867. Cr.

Oct. 1. By balance cash, §2,741 11

9. State of Massachusetts, 5,000 00

10. amount from E. Jarvis, director pro tern.,

as per following : —
cash from Henry McArdle, for board and
tuition, in advance three months from

Oct. 1,

cash for 20 Braille system writing boards,

cash for books in raised print and writing

boards,

6. By cash coll. coupons N. Y. C. R. E. bonds,
1868.

Jan. 21. By cash State of Massachusetts, 5,000 00

Mar. 2. amount from Dr. Howe, as per following :

cash from Levi Marsh, on account of Laura

Bridgman, $50 00

cash donation, 1 00

cash from C. Rider on account of board

and tuition of son, . . . . 75 00
cash from J. C. Han-is, on account of

board and tuition of son, . . . 125 00
cash from Alex. H. Robinson, on account

of board and tuition of daughter, . 75 00
cash from Dr. Murray, on account of

board and tuition of son, . . . 100 00
cash from Mr. Preston, on account of board

and tuition of son, . . . . 50 00
cash from Rev. T. R. Tane, on account

of board and tuition of neice, . . 150 00
cash from Mrs. Spencer, on account of

board and tuition of son, . . . 120 53
cash from Win. T. Allen, on account of

board and tuition of son, . . . 100 00

Amounts carried forward, . . . $846 53 $13,014 83

INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND.

[Oct.

Amounts brought forward, .
Mar. 2. By cash from B. O. Frazier on account of

board and tuition of son,
cash from Levi Marsh, on account of

Laura Bridgman,
cash from board of laundry girl,
cash from sale of books in raised print,
cash from sale of broom corn, .
cash from sale of brooms of boys' shop,
cash from sale of old boiler, .
cash from C. Rider, on account of board

and tuition of son,

Apr. 4. By cash State of Maine,

6. cash State of Massachusetts, .
14. cash State of Connecticut,

25. cash State of Rhode Island, .

May 1. cash coupons N. Y. C. R. R. bonds,

30. amount from Dr. Howe, as per following

cash from Mrs. Spencer, on account of

board and tuition of son,
cash from Mr. Sadd, on account of board

and tuition of Arthur Skinner, .
cash from Win. Allen, on account of board

and tuition of son,
cash proceeds of concert at Cambridge,
cash from sale of brooms of boys' shop,
cash from Otis Patten, bill of books,
cash from sale of books in raised print,
cash from board of laundry girls, .
cash from sale of brooms of boj's' shop,
cash from Rev. T. R. Tane, on account
of board of Bertha Iverston during

vacation,

cash from sale of old iron,

July 3. By cash State of Massachusetts, .
Sept. 30. amount from Dr. Howe, as per following :

cash from A. H. Robinson, on account of

board and tuition of daughter,
cash from Charles Dickens, donation for
printing the " Old Curiosity Shop " in

raised print,

cash from Wm. T. Allen, balance due on
account of board and tuition of son, .

$846 53 $13,014 83

196 70

80 00
30 00
125 80
19 06
80 50
16 00

75 00

$100 00
25 00

100 00
50 00
11 75
66 25

172 05
82 50
54 00

40 00
14 20

$75 00

1,700 00
8 71

1,469 59

2,850 00

4,000 00

2,101 50

2,199 47

142 50

715 75
8,500 00

Amounts carried forward,

. $1,783 71 $34,993 64

1868.] ANNUAL REPORT. 37

Amounts Irought forward, . . .$1,783 71 $34,993 64
Sept. 30. By cash from John Wooldredge, on account

of board and tuition of son, . . 250 00

cash from Thomas Frazier, on account of

board and tuition c ( son, . . . 250 00
cash from Levi Marsh, on account of

Laura Bridgman, . . . . 50 00

cash from John Lewis, on account of bill

of broom corn, 50 00

cash from sale of soap grease, . . . 17 15
cash from B. O. Frazier, on account of

board and tuition of son, . . . 65 00
cash from Clement Ryder, on account of

board and tuition of son, . . . 75 00
cash from J. C. Harris, on account of

board and tuition of son, . . . 175 00
cash from Bev. T. B. Tane, on account of

board and tuition of neice, . . . 150 00
cash from R. G. Moorman, on account of

board and tuition of daughter, . . 166 96
cash from sale of books in raised print, . 164 35

Oct. 3. By amount from Dr. Howe, as per following :
from use of horse and wagon, and board

of teamster of workshop, . . . $623 00
from board, 92 00

3,197 17

715 00

5. By cash State of Massachusetts, 6,250 00

balance to new account, 926 49

$46,082 30

INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND.

[Oct.

Analysis of Treasurer's Account.

The Treasurer's Report shows that the total receipts during the

year were, !

Deducting cash on hand at the beginning of the year, .

$45,155 81
, 2,741 11

$42,414 70

Ordinary Receipts.

From State of Massachusetts, $28,750 00

beneficiaries of other States and private pupils, 9,913 87

5,662 87

Extraordinary Receipts.

From donations,

coupons New York Central Railroad bonds,

proceeds of concert at Cambridge,

board of laundry girls, ....

use of horse and wagon, and board of teamster

of workshop, .
sale of brooms of boys' shop,
sale of broom corn,
sale of old boiler,
sale of old iron, .
sale of soap grease,
sale of books in raised print, and writing boards

. $1,701

. 2S5

. 244

. 623

. 146

, 584

3,750 83

$42,414 70

General Analysis of Steward's Account, Oct. 1, 1868.

Dr. Cr.

Sundry liabilities due Oct. 1, 1867, .... $2,411 08

Ordinary expenses, as per schedule annexed, and
extraordinary expenses, as per schedule of extra-
ordinary repairs, &c, 43,639 28

Total receipts on drafts from Treasurer, . . . $46,0S2 30
amount due Steward, Oct. 1, 1868, ... 18 06

$46,100 36 $46,100 36

1868.] ANNUAL REPORT. 39

General Abstract of the Accounts of the Work Departments,

Oct. 1, 1868.
Workshop and Laundry.
Liabilities.
Due Institution for original loans, .... $16,378 42
for interest on original loans, . . 982 71
for additional loan of Sept. 30, 1868, . 3,000 00

sundry individuals, 2,711 14

$23,072 27

Assets.

Stock on hand, Oct. 1, 1868, $6,291 78

Cash on hand, Oct. 1, 1868, 2,069 68

Debts due, o 901 45

11,282 91

Balance against the work departments, Oct. 1, 1868, . . . $11,789 36
Balance against the work departments, Oct. 1, 1867, . . . 10,345 92

Total cost ot carrying on work departments, . . . $1,443 44

Analysis of the Work Departments.

Dr. Cr.

Cash on hand, Oct. 1, 1867, $1,989 92

Cash received during the year, 31 400 79

Liabilities, Oct. 1, 1867, $2,895 33

Salaries and wages paid blind persons, . $8,276 96
Salaries and wages paid seeing persons, . 6,448 39

14,725 35

Sundries for stock, &c, 13,700 35

Cash on hand, Oct. 1, 1868, 2,069 68

3,390 71 $33,390 71

Amount paid blind persons for the year ending Sept. 30, 1867, . $S,450 38

" " Sept. 30, 1868, . s',276 96

INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND.

[Oct.

General Analysis of Expenditures for the year ending
September 30, 1868, as per StetcarcPs Account.

ARTICLES.

Tkice.

Meats, 12.305J pounds,

$1,907 15

Fish, 3,048£ pounds, ....

286 56

Butter, 2,822£ pounds, ....

1,325 33

Milk, 13,294£ quarts, ....

1,040 85

Eice, sago, &c, 648 pounds, .

77 67

Sugar, 3,516 pounds,

646 61

Tea and coffee, 697 pounds, .

253 14

Bread, flour, meal, &c., ....

2,395 85

Fruit,

203 52

Potatoes and other vegetables,

473 14

Sundry groceries, .

506 19

Sundry articles of consumption,

138 32

Household furniture and bedding, .

3,148 00

Gas and oil,

480 07

Coal and wood, ....

217 31

Washing,

2,679 80

Clothing and mending, .

46 44

Salaries and wages of blind people,

2,151 64

Salaries and wages of seeing people,

9,386 20

Outside aid,

558 15

Insurance,

100 00

Taxes,

15 50

Rent of office in town, .

188 00

Expenses of stable,

1,448 48

Expenses of boys' shop, .

728 51

Expenses of printing office, .

958 70

Books, stationery, &c, .

690 54

Musical instruments,

838 58

Medicines and medical attendance,

105 55

Board of blind pupils, .

131 85

Sundries, .....

498 19

Ordinary construction and repairs,

8,088 10

$36,713 94

Extraordinary construction and repairs,

$1,241 81

Extraordinary travelling expenses of pupils,

399 86

Advertising concerts and tickets, .

255 19

Photograph of band,

77 00

Painting banner, ....

13 12

Constructing sewer,

455 59

Fire Extinguisher, ....

54 50

Board of employees during vacation,

54 00

Goods from Paris exposition, .

43 58

Tower clock and small clock, .

853 34

Circulars and expenses of distribution,

349 98

Covered sleigh for laundry, .

50 00

Loan to work departments, .

3,000 00

Bills to be refunded,

127 37

6,975 34

$43,6S9 28

Liabilities of October 1st, 1867, ....

2,411 08

$46,100 36

1868.]

ANNUAL REPORT.

List of Embossed Books, printed at the Perkins Institution and
Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind.

Lardner's Universal History, .
Howe's Geography,
Howe's Atlas of the Islands, .
English Reader, first part,

English Reader, second part, .

The Harvey Boys, .

The Pilgrim's Progress, .

Baxter's Call,

English Grammar, .

Life of Melancthon,

Constitution of the United States,

Book of Diagrams,

Viri Romae, ....

Pierce's Geometry, with diagrams,

Political Class-Book,

First Table of Logarithms, .

Second Table of Logarithms,

Principles of Arithmetic,

Astronomical Dictionary,

Philosophy of Natural History,

Rudiments of Natural Philosophy,

Cyclopaedia, . .

Book of Common Prayer,

Guide to Devotion,

New Testament, (small,)

New Testament, (large,)

Old Testament, .

Book of Psalms,

Book of Proverbs, .

Psalms in Verse, .

Psalms and Hymns,

The Dairyman's Daughter, .

The Spelling-Book,

The Sixpenny Glass of Wine,

Howe's Blind Child's Manual,

Howe's Blind Child's First Book, .

Howe's Blind Child's Second Book,

Howe's Blind Child's Third Book, .

Howe's Blind Child's Fourth Book,

Collection of Hymns for the Blind,

Milton's Poetical Works,

Diderot's Essay,

Combe's Constitution of Man,

Natural Theology, .

Writing Cards,

No. of
Volumes.

3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

1
1
1
1

Price per bound

Vol. of those

for sale.

$5 00
4 00
4 00

4 00

5 00
4 00

3 00

4 00

3 00

4 00

3 00

5 00
5 00
5 00
5 00

4 00

4 50

4 00

5 00

Price unbound,

in pasteboard

boxes.

50
00
00
00
00

00
00
00

U 50
1 00

1 50

1 50
1 50

1 00

2 00
2 00

1 00
1 00

2 50

Maps, globes and other apparatus prepared for institutions at actual cost.
A good mural map of any State can be made in plaster for about ten dol-
lars.

INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND.

[Oct.

LIST OF PUPILS

Alden, Lizzie
Batchelder, Belle
Billings, Clara
Brown, Lulu M.
Bubier, Jennie W.
Butler, Mary
Cairnes, Lizzie
Caldwell, Mary
Carter, Sarah
Connoley, Catherine
Day, Delia O.
Doherty, Cassy
Downing, Katy
Garside, Lilla
Good, Ellen
Healey, Julia
Jennison, Bella M.
Jennison, H. E.
Luke, Lizzie
McClaren, Mary J.
Miles, Rosa
O'Hare, Mary A.
Powers, Margaret
Bobbins, M. C.
Tower, Minnie
Watson, Mary
Wrinn, Mary

MASSACHUSETTS.

Barnett, Richard
Briggs, Herbert
Carlisle, John
Carrol, Thomas
Carter, Charles
Crafts, George
Donnelley, Peter
Gorman, Patrick
Griffin, Daniel
Harrington, John
Hart, George
Heath, Frederick
Howarth, William E.
Kiley, Thomas
Lincoln, George
Locke, Samuel
Longley, Louis
Marble, John N.
McArdle, Henry
McDougal, William
McDougal, William G.
Murphy, James
Murphy, William
Parker, Benjamin F.
Patterson, John H.
Ramsdell, Herschel
Rider, Clement
Thompson, Geo. Wm.
Wallace, William
Wooldredge, John

Ball, Flora E.
Batchelder, J. Alice
Davis, Louisa
Healey, Abby
Morrison, Jennie
Robinson, Mittie
Shorey, Lydia
Spencer, Henrietta

Crowley, Joseph
Fish, Henry
Gowen, Frank
Greenleaf, Eugene
Libbey, Charles
Murray, Arthur
Quimby, William
Shaw, Charles
Stover, Luther

•]

ANNUAL REPORT.

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Blake, Martha
Bridgraan, Laura
Davis, Jennie
Knight, Mary C.
McCain, Emma J.
McCain, Mouisa
Smith, Martha
Warren, Julia

Allen, Lucretia
Cox, Olive
Kesar, Katy
Newell, Jennie
Poor, Betsey A.

Black, Freda

Brownell, Ella
Coughlin, Matilda
Kimball, Fanny
Trafton, Idella

Moorman, Fannie C.

Kerston, Bertha

Cook, David
Russell, Herbert W.
Sagar, William J.

VERMONT.

Baker, Hubert
Gorman, Harry B.
Hall, Henry A*

Kilbourn, Frank
Root, Philip M.
Scott, Charles E.

CONNECTICUT.

RHODE ISLAND.

NEW YORK.

KENTUCKY.

CALIFORNIA.

INDIANA.

CANADA.

Barney, Charles
Clark, Nathan
Jewett, Frank
Penney, Urban
Reid, William A.
Skinner, Arthur
Smith, J. W.
Young, William

Fairman, De Volney
McElroy, Hugh
Pengally, John
Preston, Charles
Vars, John

Harris, George

Spencer, C. Freddie

Newland, Robert A.

Fraser, Septimus

NOVA SCOTIA.

Fraser, C. F.

INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND.

[Oct.

TEACHERS.

Prof. F. J. Campbell.
Thomas Reeves.

DOMESTICS.

Katy Flemming. Direxia Hawkes.

Sarah Nugent.

EMPLOYEES OF WORKSHOP AND LAUNDRY.

Barry, Mary
Blaisdell, Lydia
Bradley, Hannah
Burns, Delia
Chick, Mary
Fitzgibbon, Mary
Hallard, Sarah
Hayes, Mary
Kane, Maggie
McCormick, Mary
Mehan, Mary
Salter, Mary
Shea, Maggie
Sherman, Phebe
Teague, Margaret
Weston, Mary
Wheeler, Sarah

Blaisdell, Joseph
Denney, William
George, John
Hallard, John
Hodgkins, George
Holden, Horace
Lewis, John
Mclnnary, Lawrence
Montgomery, James
Morrill, Pliny
Murphy, William
O'Connor, Charles
Patten, Isaac
Pippin, George
Pringle, John
Smalley, Lyman
Smith, Robert
Smith, Wm. Weston
Snow, Samuel

1868.] ANNUAL REPORT. 45

TERMS OF ADMISSION

Young blind persons, of good moral character, can be admitted to the
school by paying $300 per annum. This sum covers all expenses, except for
clothing ; namely, board, washing, medicines, the use of books, musical
instruments, &c. The pupils must furnish their own clothing, and pay their
own fares to and from the Institution. The friends of the pupils can visit
them whenever they choose.

Indigent blind persons, of suitable age and character, belonging to Massa-
chusetts, can be admitted gratuitously, by application to the governor for a
warrant.

The following is a good form, though any other will do :

" To His Excellency the Governor :

" Sir, — My son, (or daughter, or nephew, or niece, as the case may be,)
named A. B., and aged , cannot be instructed in the common schools for
want of sight. I am unable to pay for the tuition at the Perkins Institution
and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, and I request that your Excellency
will grant a warrant for free admission.

" Very respectfully, ."

The application may be made by any relation or friend, if the parents are
dead or absent.

It should be accompanied by a certificate from one or more of the select-
men of the town, or aldermen of the city, in this form :

" I hereby certify that, in my opinion, Mr. is not a wealthy

person, and that he cannot afford to pay $300 per annum for his child's
instruction. (Signed,) ."

There should also be a certificate, signed by some regular physician, in
this form :

" I certify that, in my opinion, has not sufficient vision to

be taught in common schools ; and that he is free from epilepsy, and from any
contagious disease. (Signed,) ■ ."

These papers should be done up together, and directed to " The Secretary
of the Commonwealth, State House, Boston, Mass."

An obligation will be required from some responsible persons, that the pupil
shall be removed without expense to the Institution, whenever it may be
desirable to discharge him.

46 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

The usual period of tuition is from five to seven years.

Indigent blind persons residing in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Con-
necticut and Rhode Island, by applying as above to the " Commissioners for
the Blind, care of the Secretary of State," in the respective States, can obtain
warrants of free admission.

For further particulars address Dr. S. G. Howe, Director of the Institution
for the Blind, Boston, Mass.

The relatives or friends of the blind who may be sent to the Institution,
are requested to furnish information in answer to the following questions :

1. What is the name and age of the applicant ?

2. Where born ?

3. Was he born blind ? If not, at what age was the sight impaired ?

4. Is the blindness total or partial ?

5. What is the supposed cause of the blindness ?

6. Has he ever been subject to fits ?

7. Is he now in good health and free from eruptions and contagious dis-
eases of the skin ?

8. Has he ever been to school ? If yes, where ?

9. What is the general moral character of the applicant ?

10. Is he gentle and docile in temper, or the. contrary ?

11. Has he any peculiarity of temper and disposition ?

12. Of what country was father of the applicant a native ?

13. What was the general bodily condition and health of the father — was
he vigorous and healthy, or the contrary ?

14. Was the father of the applicant ever subject to fits or scrofula ?

15. Were all his senses perfect?

16. Was he always a temperate man ?

17. About how old was he when the applicant was born ?

18. Was there any known peculiarity in the family of the father of the
applicant ; that is, were any of the grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts,
brothers, sisters or cousins blind, deaf or insane, or afflicted with any infirmity
of body or mind ?

19. If dead, at what age did he die, and of what disorder ?

20. Where was the mother of the applicant born ?

21. What was the general bodily condition of the mother of the applicant —
strong and healthy, or the contrary ?

22. Was she ever subject to scrofula or to fits ?

23. Were all her senses perfect ?

24. Was she always a temperate woman ?

25. About how old was she when the applicant was born ?

26. How many children had she before the applicant was born ?

27. Was she related by blood to her husband ? if so, in what degree — 1st,
2d or 3d cousins ?

28. If dead, at what age did she die, and of what disorder ?

29. Was there any known peculiarity in her family ; that is, were any of
her grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, children or cousins

1868.] ANNUAL EEPORT. 47

either blind, or deaf or insane, or afflicted with any infirmity of body or
mind ?

30. What are the pecuniary means of the parents or immediate relatives of
the applicant ?

31. How much can they afford to pay towards the support and education
of the applicant ?

INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct. '68.

OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION,

1868-9.

PRESIDENT.

SAMUEL MAY.

VICE-PRESIDENT.

JOSEPH LYMAN.

TREASURER.

WILLIAM CLAFLIN.

SECRETARY.

SAMUEL G. HOWE.

ROBERT E. APTHORP.
FRANCIS BROOKS.
THOMAS T. BOUVE.
SAMUEL ELIOT.
GEORGE S. HALE.
JOSEPH LYMAN.

TRUSTEES.

AUGUSTUS LOWELL.
G. 11. MUDGE.
JOSIAH QUINCY.
BENJAMIN S. ROTCH.
JAMES STURGIS.

VISITING COMMITTEE.

For October,
November,
December,
January,
February,
March,
April,
May,
June,
July,
August,
September,

Messrs. APTHORP and BOUVE.
BOUVE and BROOKS.
BROOKS and ELIOT.
ELIOT and HALE.
HALE and LOWELL.
LOWELL and LYMAN.
LYMAN and MUDGE.
MUDGE and QUINCY.
QUINCY and ROTCH.
ROTCH and STURGIS.
STURGIS and APTHORP.

PUBLIC DOCUMENT No. 28.

THIRTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT

THE TRUSTEES

PERKINS INSTITUTION

assarljusetfs ^sjjlmn for t\t $lhfo.

October, 1869

BOSTON:

WRIGHT & POTTER, STATE PRINTERS,

79 Milk Street (Corner of Federal).

1870.

doinmonwealtl) of JMaesacljusttta,

TRUSTEES' REPORT.

Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, ?

Boston, SepU 30, 1869. >

To the Corporation.

Gentlemen: — The undersigned, Trustees, respectfully sub-
mit the following statement for the financial year, which closes
this day.

It makes the Thirty-Eighth Annual Report of the Institution.
The last one contained a brief history of the establishment, and
a general outline of its organization and administration ; this,
therefore, may properly be confined to the history of the past
year.

The number of blind persons connected with the Institution,
Sept. 30th, 1868, was one hundred and sixty-two ; twenty have
been admitted, twenty-seven discharged, and the actual num-
ber is one hundred and fifty-five. Of these, twenty -three are in
the adult or work department, and one hundred and thirty-two
in the junior department, or the school proper.

The general health of the inmates has been good. There
have been a few cases of sickness, but none mortal.

The report of the Director will set forth the statistics in
detail.

It was stated in the last report, that the Trustees concluded
not to draw from the State treasury the special appropriation
of 815,000 made by the legislature of 1866-7, upon condi-
tion that $15,000 more should be gathered by subscription.

4 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

The reasons for this were explained in the last report. The
chief one was that the time had come to enlarge the establish-
ment, and reorganize it upon the principles so often and earnestly
urged by the Director, and the appropriation was insufficient
for this purpose.

The Trustees concluded to try the experiment ; to abandon
the congregate system with its living " in commons," its com-
mon dormitories, and other features of monastic life, and to
introduce a system as nearly like that of the ordinary family,
as the necessary regard for economy would warrant.

It is manifest that in the education of a child marked by
any infirmity or abnormality, special measures should be taken
to prevent that peculiarity from affecting unfavorably the har-
monious development of his nature, and the formation of his
character. The infirmity or abnormality, be it blindness, be it
deafness, be it what it may, is not only a bodily lack, but also
a source of evil out of which, if unchecked, there will flow
abnormal and undesirable consequences.

It is useless to question this without questioning also the
wisdom of the Divine hand which fashioned our mortal frame.

It is worse than useless to keep it out of sight while setting
forth, and enlarging upon, the compensation which cultivation
of the remaining senses affords, as is often done by reports of
schools for defectives, as the blind, mutes, and the like. We
must admit, and act upon the latter, but keep the former con-
stantly in mind.

It is equally manifest that the peculiar effects growing out of
any physical defect or abnormality upon the character of an
individual must be intensified by close and long-continued
association with other individuals marked by a like peculiarity;
and the converse is equally true — they are lessened, perhaps
disappear, by close and long-continued association with ordi-
nary persons.

The problem therefore is, in the language of the Director,
how to reap the positive benefits of bringing such persons
together in classes for instruction and training, with the least
disadvantage from their close association. When, therefore, it
seems necessary, for purposes of instruction and training, to
gather a large number of such sufferers from different parts of
the country, their association with each other should be kept at

1869.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 28. 5

its minimum, and their association with ordinary persons car-
ried to its maximum.

He says : —

" Experience and reflection bring me to the following conclu-
sions :

" First. A blind boy or girl gains in knowledge, in character,
especially in self-reliance, by dwelling in close intimacy with
other blind children and youth during a certain period of time;
but afterwards he gains less than he would by close association
with ordinary persons, and under ordinary social influences.

" Second. The advantages gained after the first year by the
association of many blind persons in one family, are in spite of,
rather than in consequence of such association.

" Third. The manifest advantages which may be gained in
the instruction and education of ordinary children and youth
by associating the sexes, and profiting by their happy influence
upon each other, cannot be had in the case of the blind, with-
out violating the plain principle, that an establishment for
educating the infirm of any class should not furnish greater
facilities and temptations for intermarriage among the members
of that class, than they would have had, if left to grow up in
their respective neighborhoods.

" Fourth. That, upon the whole, it is desirable to have a
stricter separation of sexes in an educational institution for the
blind, than in one for ordinary children and youth ; but that
this cannot be had while they inhabit the same building, with-
out a severity of discipline that defeats its own purpose.
There ought, therefore, to be at least two buildings, entirely
separate from and out of earshot of each other.

" Fifth. That to secure the greatest amount of good with the
least amount of evil, there should be as many separate dwell-
ing-houses as there are tens or dozens of pupils, and that these
should be arranged and conducted like common dwelling-
houses, save that they may be under central supervision, and
supplied from a common commissariat.

" I believe that the same rules should be kept in view in the
education of deaf mutes."

To carry out such a system, new buildings were necessary ;
and the Trustees applied to the legislature for a larger grant.

6 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

The application was referred to the Committee on Public
Charitable Institutions, who reported unanimously in its favor.
Their report abounded in words of wisdom and of humanity ;
some of which we deem it not improper to reproduce here.

" It would be a waste of words to urge the claim which blind
children have for a full share of the means of instruction which
the State accords to all the young. They have even stronger
claims than common children, because they start at a disadvantage
in the race of life ; because they carry a burden in their infirmity;
because they come mostly of poor and humble parents ; and
because, without special instruction and training, they are almost
certain, sooner or later, to become a public charge.

" All children have a right to instruction. The children of the
rich are sure to get it ; and the State is bound, alike by duty and
interest, to see that none lacks the means of obtaining it. Massa-
chusetts has ever acknowledged this claim of children, and en-
forced it by legal enactments. She practically commands that a
school-house shall be built within walking distance of every one
of them, and she is cheerfully obeyed. School-houses are mul-
tiplied throughout the land, and some of them are palatial in their
proportions and perfect in their equipments. None but those
who would cheaply equip a regiment for the war, would cheaply
equip a district school.

"The rich man seeks for his child the best teacher, the best
school-room, the best apparatus of instruction ; and the public is
rapidly coming to the consciousness that the whole Commonwealth
is richer than any individual man, and that the schools for its
children shall be as good as the best.

"But with every generation of children there comes a certain
number for whom these beautiful and commodious school-houses
might as well have been built without a window, and without even
a key-hole, to let in a ray of light — for they are blind.

" They, more than all the others, need instruction. More than all
others they have a claim upon the public for it, because, without
it they are doomed not only to mental as well as bodily darkness,
but to certain dependence. The burden of their support keeps
their family poor, and upon the death of their parents they almost
surely fall upon the public for maintenance. Hence the connection
in all past times, and in all countries, between blindness and beg-
gary. The seat on which sat Blind Bartimeus at Jericho, is
repeated at the gates of every city of the old world.

"But ways and means have been found to instruct the blind.
School-houses can be so constructed and equipped as to be, for

1869.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 28. 7

them, all ablaze with the light of knowledge. The people of
Massachusetts first erected such a school upon this continent. Pri-
vate citizens gathered the funds, purchased and equipped the build-
ing, and carried the experiment to a successful conclusion, asking
the State merely to pay the annual cost of its own indigent pupils.

" Massachusetts adopted the policy of giving special instruction
to the blind, forty years ago, and has, by annual liberal appro-
priations, kept her institution in the front rank of kindred estab-
lishments in Christian nations and states. It is admitted that
these appropriations have been wisely and efficiently expended
for the benefit of the blind, by a board of trustees appointed
partly by an association of citizens, and partly by the governor
and council. Those trustees now ask for a special grant, sufficient
to enable them to provide new, commodious and safe buildings, and
to reorganize the institution upon those principles which reason and
the experience of forty years show to be essential. They ask it
because the present building is entirely inadequate to the wants of
the establishment. The inmates have increased from six — which
was the number when the State aid was first asked — to a hundred
and sixty, most of whom reside within the walls. The edifice,
which was built for a hotel, no longer suffices, either for the numbers,
for the proper grading of the school, or for the proper classifica-
tion of the inmates, and is specially inadequate for safety against
fire, since it has become necessary to occupy the upper stories.

" The trustees propose, as a first step, to build upon their
present premises a sufficient number of separate dwelling-houses,
say eight or ten, to accommodate the present number of pupils,
who shall live as ordinary children live, in separate families. With
these dwelling-houses, the main building, now partially occupied
for dormitories, and very much crowded, will afford quite con-
venient room for the chapel, music hall, practising rooms, recitation
rooms, &c. By this arrangement, a long step will be taken towards
avoiding most of the evils of congregating together a large number
of persons, subjects of a common infirmity, upon the old monastic
or boarding-house system. It can make the nearest approach to
the true family system which is consistent with reasonable economy
in the management of such an establishment.

"The reports of the institution during the last twenty years
have abounded in arguments, showing how desirable such an
arrangement is for the well-being of the blind as a class. They
have set forth, not only the reasons for such change, but pointed
out instances of the good effects following the adoption of the
principle of separation. They have shown the impossibility of
doing full justice to the children of our farmers and mechanics,

8 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

without better means of classification than they now possess.
They have shown that they have been obliged to reject persons
whom they otherwise would have been glad to receive.

" It is estimated that the cost of the new houses will be about
eighty thousand dollars. The Trustees are confident that with
such aid, they can make the institution competent to meet all the
reasonable wants of the blind for many years to come.

" The Trustees ask that the Commonwealth will furnish them the
means of educating her blind children in some slight degree pro-
portionate to the means she has so liberally furnished for educating
her seeing children. They do not ask it as a charity, but they
expect it as a part of the obligation early assumed to educate every
son and daughter of the Commonwealth. For her seeing children
Massachusetts opens primary, grammar and high schools. Every
town is required by law to provide adequate instruction, free, for
all seeing children of suitable age. For these schools the towns
raised by taxation last year, $2,636,774. In addition to this sum,
voluntary contributions were made to the public schools amounting
to $32,790, and there were also raised by taxation, for various
purposes, $88,496, making an aggregate of $2,758,060, raised in
the towns for the public schools. Farther, the State applied to
the same schools $88,988 from the income of the moiety of the
school fund, making a total of $2,847,048.

" There are, throughout the State, various funds for the benefit
of private schools, amounting to $1,165,112, the income being
last year $74,467. The amount paid for tuition in incorporated
academies was $124,276, the amount paid for tuition in private
schools was $410,000, making the aggregate for private schools,
(not including colleges,) $658,734. These two amounts make an
aggregate of $3,505,782, applied to the support of public and
private schools for seeing children last year, not a dollar of which
was of the slightest use to the blind.

" But the Commonwealth has gone farther. She has established
Normal Schools at points convenient of access for all her seeing
children, and for the support of them, as well as for the payment of
the expenses of the board of education, she applies the other
moiety of the income of the school fund, amounting to about
$75,000 annually. Adding this amount to the aggregate before
found; we have $3,580,782 as the grand total of the annual cost of
the education of seeing children, not including amounts paid by
individuals for tuition in the colleges. In addition to all this, the
Commonwealth has made munificent appropriations to the Agri-
cultiu-al and other colleges. To her blind children all these schools
are closed. And yet education is more indispensable to the blind

1869.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 28. 9

than to the seeing. Even in our community there are many seeing
persons without the slightest education in the schools, who are still
useful citizens and successful in the various walks of life. An
uneducated blind person is utterly helpless, and must become
dependent.

" We believe that blind children have the same claims upon the
State for education as seeing children, and that their needs are
greater; that the Commonwealth owes to her blind children the
opportunities for better education than those hitherto enjoyed,
which have been confined almost entirely to merely elementary
studies; that she is abundantly able to furnish them means, and
cannot afford to withhold them; that she has an institution where
these children can be educated more cheaply and more successfully
than in any other institution in the world, and that every consider-
ation of economy and of humanity appeals to the legislature to
place at the disposal of the trustees of this institution, the means of
increasing its usefulness, and of enlarging and perfecting the efforts
which have made the Massachusetts Institution for the Blind an
honor to the Commonwealth, and a blessing to mankind."

The report concluded with the following Resolve, which,
as amended, passed both branches of the legislature unani-
mously, without a word of debate : —

" Resolved, That there be allowed and paid to the trustees of the
Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, the
sum of eighty thousand dollars, and the same is hereby appropriated,
for the purpose of erecting suitable buildings for the use of the
institution, the same to be paid from time to time in instalments, as
may be certified to be necessary by the trustees : provided, that no
portion of the said sum shall be paid, until the said trustees shall
have conveyed to the Commonwealth, by a good and sufficient
deed, and free from all incumbrances, the land on which the build-
ings to be erected shall stand, and so much adjacent thereto as the
governor and council shall require ; and until the plans for said
buildings and the estimates therefor shall have been approved by
the governor and council."

It required considerable time to prepare plans for the pro-
posed dwelling-houses.

Further delay was occasioned by the difficulty of purchasing,
at a fair price, a lot of land which jutted into our premises, and
made part of them unavailable. But everything was finally

10 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

arranged ; the governor and council approved the plans ; and
the work of building will be commenced immediately.

The sum appropriated by the legislature will barely suffice
to build the boarding-houses. The land upon the north side of
Broadway, opposite the main building, which is comparatively
useless to the Institution, can be sold for enough to pay for the
land nearer at hand which has been purchased ; and also to
remove the stable and the men's workshop to the north side of
Fourth Street ; and to put the whole premises in proper condition.

But in order to carry out the plans adopted for extending
the usefulness of the Institution, and for making the establish-
ment complete, more means will be required. It will be neces-
sary either to build a large central building for music hall,
practising rooms, &c, or to make extensive alterations and
repairs in the present main building. In either case funds will
be wanted.

There is in the State treasury the sum of $15,000, voted by
the legislature of 1867-8, which can be had by raising other
$15,000 by contributions. This much at least ought to be raised
before the end of this year, else it will be forfeited.

When the present plans are carried out, the Institution will
have all the material appliances necessary for carrying on its
beneficent work advantageously.

The moral means must be supplied by those who shall
administer it.

The report of the Treasurer, and the inventories of real and
personal estate, are herewith presented.

All of which is respectfully submitted by

ROBERT E. APTHORP.
THOMAS T. BOUVE.
FRANCIS BROOKS.
SAMUEL ELIOT.
GEORGE S. HALE.
E. R. MUDGE.
AUGUSTUS LOWELL.
EDWARD N. PERKINS.
JOSIAH QU1NCY.
BENJ. S. ROTCH.
JAMES STURGIS.

1869.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 28.

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INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND.

[Oct.

The undersigned, a Committee appointed to examine the accounts of the
Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, for the year
1868-9, have attended to that duty, and hereby certify that they find the
accounts properly vouched and correctly cast, and that there is a cash balance
in the hands of the Treasurer, of thirteen hundred and forty-six dollars and
thirty-nine cents.

The Treasurer also exhibited to us title deeds to the following property
belonging to the Institution : —

Deed of land

in South Boston, dated April, 1844,

February, 1847,

August, 1848,
January, 1850,
July, 1850, .
April, 1855,
August, 1855,
April, 1855,
Five bonds, ($1,000 each,) of the New York Central Railroad,
valued at 4,700 00

§755 68

5,000 00

5,500 00

1,762 50

1,020 25

3,710 00

450 00

2,811 50

EDWARD AUSTIN,
WM. A. WELLMAN,

A uditing Committee.

1869.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 28. 13

Detailed Statement of Treasurer's Cash Account.

1868-9. Dr.

To balance of cash due October 1, 1868, . . . $926 49
drafts of the Auditor of Accounts, Nos. 255 to 264

inclusive, 47,750 02

cash on hand September 30, 1869, .... 1,346 39

$50,022 90

1868. Cr.

Oct. 12. By cash from State of New Hampshire, . . . $3,674 84
Nov. 4. cash proceeds of coupons N. Y. C. R. R., . . 142 50

10. cash from State of Vermont, 2,700 00

1869.
Jan. 13. By cash from State of Massachusetts, .... 6,250 00
Apr. 2. By amount from Dr. Howe, as per following :
From Mrs. Spencer, account board and tuition

of son, $10 54

Sarah Radcliffe, account board and

tuition, 100 00

Chas. N. Andrews, account board and

tuition of son, 49 75

Dr. Murray, account board and tuition

of son, 100 00

Rev. T. R. Tane, account board and

tuition of niece, . . . . 40 00
Clement Ryder, account board and

tuition of son, 75 00

Levi Marsh and S. G. Howe, Trustees

of fund for Laura Bridgman, . . 80 00
C. N. Andrews, account board and

tuition of son, 49 75

Mrs. H. Skinner, account board and

tuition of son,

sale of brooms of boys' shop,

sale of broom corn, ....

sale of books in raised print,

School for F. M. Youth, for washing, .

School for F. M. Youth, for clerk hire,

sale of musical instruments to pupils, .

Amount carried forward, . . . .$14,415 46

30 00

266 75

66 49

431 09

203 75

100 00

45 00

1,648 12

INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND.

[Oct.

Amount brought forward,

Apr. 2. By cash from State of Massachusetts, .

June 4. proceeds of coupons N. Y. C. R. R ,

July 6. State of Vermont, ....

6. State of Rhode Island, .

6. State of Maine, ....

6. By amount from Dr. Howe, as per following :

From Mrs. Skinner, account board and tuition

of son, $45 00

Rev. T. R. Tane, account board and

tuition of niece, .... 200 00
Idiot School, for clerk hire 3 months, . 75 00
G. Ryder, account board and tuition of

son, 75 00

Mrs. Spencer, account board and tuition

of son, 125 00

B. F. Frazer, account board and tuition

of son,

contributions per Loring Moody,
contributions of Albert G. Brown, Salem,
contributions, anonymous, .
sale of books in raised print,
sale of brooms from boys' shop, .
sale of soap grease, ....

July 8. By cash from State of Massachusetts, .

Aug. 7. By amounts from Dr. Howe, as per following:

From Levi Marsh and S. G. Howe, Trustees

of fund for Laura Bridgman, . . $50 00
Rev. T. R. Tane, on account board and

tuition of niece, . . . • 54 75
sale of brooms from boys' shop, . . 59 86
Mrs. Bridgman, account board of

Laura, 40 00

sale of books in raised print, . . 50 35
R. G. Moorman, for flute purchased for

daughter, 55 00

Sept. 30. By amounts from Dr. Howe, as per following :

From sale of books in raised print, . . $279 20
sale of broom corn and handles from

boys' shop, 34 29

board of teamster, and use of horse and

wagon at workshop, . . . 650 00

L4,415 46
7,500 00
142 50
2,985 83
2,733 33
4,390 00

300 00

41 51

5 00

10 50

411 52

274 00

19 80

1,582 33

7,500 00

309 96

30. By cash from State of Massachusetts,

963 49
7,500 00

$50,022 90

1869.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 28.

Analysis of Treasurer's Account.

The Treasurer's Account shows that the total receipts during the
year were, i

Ordinary Receipts.

From State of Massachusetts, $28,750 00

beneficiaries of other States and private pupils, 17,908 79

),022 90

$46,658 79

Extraordinary Receipts.
From coupons New York Central Railroad bonds,

use of horse and wagon, and board of, teamster

of workshop, .....
sale of brooms from boys' shop, .
sale of books in raised print,
sale of soap grease, ....
amount from Idiot School for washing,
amount from Idiot School for clerk hire,
sale of musical instruments to pupils, .
contributions,

$285 00

650 00

701 39

1,172 16

19 80

203 75

175 00

100 00

57 01

3,364 11

),022 90

Several contributions to the Building Fund were received by the Treas-
urer, and will be acknowledged in the Report of the next year, which will
contain a detailed account.

General Analysis of Steward's Account, Oct. 1, 1869.

Liabilities due October 1, 1868,

Ordinary expenses, as per schedule annexed, and

extraordinary expenses, as per schedule of extra

ordinary repairs, &c, .
Total receipts on drafts from treasurer,
Amount due Steward October 1, 1869,

$47,964 54 $47,964 54

Dr.
1

Cr.

$18 06

$47,750 02
214 52

47,946 48

INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND.

[Oct.

Account of Stock October 1st, 1869.

Real Estate,* ....
Household Furniture, .
Provisions and Supplies on hand, .

1 Grand Organ, ....

3 Cabinet Organs,

27 Pianos,

Other Musical Instruments, .
Library of books on Music, .
Library of ordinary books} .
Embossed Books and Stereotype Plates
Printing Office, Presses, Type, &c,
School Furniture and Apparatus, .

Boys' Shop,

Stable, Horse, Wagon, Furniture, &c,

'$155,000 00

46,570 52

$201,570 52

* Estate on south side of Broadway, with buildings,
on north " "

Upland and Flats on Ninth Street, South Boston,

$125,000 00

25,000 00

5,000 00

$155,000 00

1869.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 28. 17

General Abstract of Accounts of Work Department, October

1, 1869.
Liabilities.
Due Institution for investments at sundry times since

the first date, $19,378 42

Due Institution for interest on the above, . . . 1,162 70

sundry individuals, 714 36

121,255 48

Assets.*

Stock on hand, Oct. 1, 1869, $5,811 37

Cash on hand, Oct. 1, 1869, 161 61

Debts due, 3,220 26

9,193 24

Balance against Work Department, Oct. 1, 1869, . . . $12,062 24
Balance against Work Department, Oct. 1, 1868, . . . 11,789 36

Total cost of carrying on Work Department, .... $272 88

Analysis of Work Department.

Dr. Cr.

Cash on hand, Oct. 1, 1868, $2,069 68

received during the year, 21,681 73

Liabilities, Oct. 1, 1868, $1,822 87

Salaries and wages paid blind persons, $4,143 82
Salaries and wages paid seeing persons, 2,712 53

6,856 35

Sundries for stock, &c, 14,910 58

Cash on hand, Oct. 1, 1869, 161 61

$,751 41 $23,751 41

* To the Assets of the Work Department should be added $5,000, for the Workshop building,
which was paid for out of the above " Investments."

INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND.

[Oct.

List of Embossed Boohs, printed at the Perkins Institution and
Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind.

Price per bound
Vol. of those
Volumes. I for sale.

No. of

Lardner's Universal History, .

Howe's Geography,

Howe's Atlas of the Islands, .

English Reader, first part,

English Reader, second part, .

The Harvey Boys, .

The Pilgrim's Progress, .

Baxter's Call, ....

English Grammar, .

Life of Melancthon,

Constitution of the United States,

Book of Diagrams,

Viri Romae, ....

Pierce's Geometry, with diagrams,

Political Class-Book,

First Table of Logarithms,

Second Table of Logarithms, .

Principles of Arithmetic,

Astronomical Dictionary,

Philosophy of Natural History,

Rudiments of Natural Philosophy,

Cyclopaedia, .

Book of Common Prayer

Guide to Devotion,

New Testament, (small,)

New Testament, (large,)

Old Testament,

Book of Psalms,

Book of Proverbs, .

Psalms in Verse, .

Psalms and Hymns,

The Dairyman's Daughter,

The Spelling-Book,

The Sixpenny Glass of Wine,

Howe's Blind Child's Manual,

Howe's Blind Child's First Book,

Howe's Blind Child's Second Book,

Howe's Blind Child's Third Book, .

Howe's Blind Child's Fourth Book,

Collection of Hymns for the Blind,

Milton's Poetical Works,

Diderot's Essay, ....

Combe's Constitution of Man,

Natural Theology, ....

Guyot's Primary Geography, .

Old Curiosity Shop, by Charles Dickens

Writing Cards, ....

Braille's Writing Boards,

Price unbound,

in pasteboard

boxes.

$5 00
4 00
4 00

4 00

5 00
4 00

3 00

4 00

3 00

4 00

3 00

5 00
5 00
5 00
5 00

4 00

4 50

4 00

5 00

50
00
00
00
00

5 00
8 00
8 00
5 00

$1 00
50

1 50

1 00
1 00

2 00
1 00

1 00
50

50
00
00
30

Maps, globes and other apparatus prepared for institutions at actual cost.
A good mural map of any State can be made in plaster for about ten dol-
lars.

1869.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 28. 19

EXTRACTS FROM THE REPORT OP THE DIRECTOR

TO THE TEUSTEES.

The plan so long entertained for breaking up our large com-
munity into small households, and for placing our pupils in
houses more like those of ordinary families, is likely to be put
into operation very soon. The special grants of the legislature
will suffice for building at least eight dwelling-houses. Those
for the boys have already been begun, and will be finished early
next spring. They are located on the southwest corner of our
premises, on Fourth Street. The contemplated site for the
girls' habitations is in the southeast part, on the corner of H
Street. This, however, would involve the necessity of remov-
ing the main building to the centre of the lot on Broadway, or
of taking it down and rebuilding it there. If this cannot be
done by means within our reach, the houses for girls can be
built upon Broadway.

The most desirable arrangement would be to have a central
building for a musical conservatory, with music hall and prac-
tising rooms ; and two buildings for schools and workshops.
It may be that private benevolence will furnish the means of
obtaining the latter. In the meantime the present main build-
ing must be made to suffice. It certainly will do much better,
when no longer required as a boarding and lodging house.
Even the removal of pupils of one sex will give considerable
relief in this respect.

When all these things shall have been obtained, and put into
good working order, the chief end for which this Institution
was designed will be accomplished. The necessary conve-
niences and appliances will exist, for giving all children of New
England who, by reason of blindness, cannot be taught in
common schools, the opportunity of obtaining instruction by

20 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

means specially adapted to their condition. In regard to com-
mon school instruction, we shall have equalized their condition
with that of ordinary children, so far as can be done by a public
organization. Besides the direct material advantage of this to
the blind as a class, there is a moral advantage of great value.

Blindness and dependence, — a blind man and a beggar, —
have been so long and so closely associated in the public mind,
that, in the old countries, whenever institutions for the blind
are projected, aid is asked solely in the name of mercy. Even
here, while people consider that instruction in the common
branches of learning must be accorded to ordinary children, as
a matter of justice, the same sort of instruction provided for
blind children is apt to be considered as a matter of charity.
It was so considered at the outset of our enterprise.

The fact of being classed among dependents and considered
as objects of special charity, is a source not only of mortifica-
tion, but of positive disadvantage. It paves the way to the
beggar's post at the roadside. People usually hold themselves
at the price set upon them by others.

Our Institution has endeavored to counteract this disadvan-
tage ; and, so far as instruction is concerned, has placed the
claim of the blind upon the same ground on which that of
other children rests. The readiness with which this claim has
been admitted, and acted upon by legislative bodies, in various
States of the United States, shows how thoroughly democratic
ideas have permeated our people. The idea is that of equal-
izing advantages, and giving to all, as nearly as can be, a fair
start in the race of life.

There are now eighteen well established institutions for the
blind in the United States ; and in the organization of almost
all of them the leading idea is that of equalizing conditions as
far as may be, and of imparting instruction as a matter of duty
rather than of mere mercy. The small voice of justice is be-
ginning to be distinguished in the cry for compassion. The
effect of this is becoming apparent in lifting the blind, as a class,
a little above the low social grade in which they are placed,
even in the most civilized European countries.

1869.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 28. 21

General Results.

These eighteen public institutions for the blind have
about one thousand pupils, boys and girls, who remain
under instruction from five to seven years. They are taught
the common branches of school learning ; a little music ;
and some handicraft. This suffices for the most of them. It
makes them equal, perhaps a little superior to children of their
social position in respect to that kind of knowledge acquired in
schools. It increases their self-respect and self-confidence. It
inspires the wish to keep themselves out of the dependent class,
and it greatly increases their chance of doing so. Most of them
find some household or industrial establishment in which they
can fill a useful place. Their moderate culture fits them for
social companionship, and their little knowledge of music is a
source of enjoyment to themselves and to those about them.

In this way the institutions for the blind are doing a great
work of beneficence, and lightening one of the heaviest burdens
which men are called upon to bear.

Throughout New England and most of the Middle and West-
ern States, any parents who seek instruction for their blind
child can have it ; and, if the special school is not near their
door, the child is taken to it, kept and taught, without their
being put to more cost than are their neighbors, who send their
child to the common school.

Necessity of Means of a Higher Culture.

Among the numerous graduates of our public institutions,
and among blind children who receive elementary education at
home, there are a few who have talents, and who, having tasted
the Pierian Spring, would fain drink deep. They sigh for means
of higher culture than the State institutions afford. They long
to read the classics, and to master the literature of their own
language, in order to gratify their tastes, to lift themselves to
an intellectual level with the best society, and to add to their
means of usefulness in life. History furnishes instances of
blind children born to wealth, or placed in favoring circum-
stances, who have become respectable scholars in various
departments of knowledge.

But we need not go beyond the history of our own institution
for proof of the capacity of the blind to profit by culture. We

22 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

fitted for college two boys quite blind from birth. One entered
Harvard University, the other Dartmouth College. Both held
their own with their class, and graduated in respectable
standing. One became a brilliant musician and a successful
teacher of music, and gave great promise ; but died young.
The other has been for several years Principal of the State
Institution for the Blind in Tennessee, and has managed his
establishment with entire success.
It is for such as these that we need

A National Collegiate Institute for the Blind.

This Institute should be specially adapted to the condition
and wants of persons whose sight is partially and temporarily
impaired by disease, and of those who are permanently blind.
In it the course of study should be the same as in our best
colleges. All instruction should be oral ; and the apparatus
and modes of illustration be addressed to the touch. It should
be supplied with text-books, maps, diagrams, and the like, in
raised characters. It should have large collections of models
of various kinds, such as weights, measures, tools, machinery,
and the like ; mannikins and models showing the anatomy of
animals and plants, as well as their outward form. It should
have collections of shells, crystals, minerals, and the like ;
models and sections showing geological strata ; philosophical
apparatus adapted to the touch ; in short, everything that can
be represented by tangible forms.

It would amaze those who have not reflected upon it, to know
how much can be done in this way. Saunderson, the blind
professor of mathematics in Cambridge, England, not only
knew ordinary money well, but he was an expert numismatist,
and could detect counterfeits in a collection of antique coins
better than ordinary persons could do by the sight.

Such an institute should have able professors and teachers,
with special aptness for adapting their lessons to the condition
of their scholars. It should furnish special facilities for the
study of languages, ancient and modern ; of mathematics, of
pedagogy, and especially of music.

It should be well provided with everything necessary in a
good conservatory of music ; and have funds for payment of
competent teachers.

1869.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 28. 23

Number of Persons Partially and Temporarily Blind.

A little reflection will show what a large number of persons
there must be to whom such an institute would be a source of
great happiness, and a means of preparation for great useful-
ness. They are mainly of two classes. First, young men or
women retarded, embarrassed, or arrested in the course of their
education by some disorder or weakness of sight, which can only
be cured by months or years of entire rest of the organ. Few
think they can afford this. They are tempted to use their eyes,
more or less. The disease is liable to become chronic ; and the
sight is often weakened for life, if not totally lost. It is hard
to calculate the number of such persons, though it is very easy
to see that it must be large.

Acute diseases of the eye are not uncommon, and chronic
affections abound. In most large cities infirmaries, or wards
of hospitals are devoted to the treatment of persons so affected ;
and many medical men confine their attention to ophthalmic
diseases. The existence of these special means of aid (as in all
similar cases) makes known the existence of an unexpectedly
large class of sufferers. The supply does not, strictly, create
the demand, but it gives knowledge thereof.

Twenty-seven European cities, with an aggregate population
of 3,233,400 inhabitants, maintain 1,635 beds in ophthalmic
hospitals, or one for about every 2,000 inhabitants.

In Boston, the Massachusetts Charitable Eye and Ear Infirm-
ary maintains 39 beds, and the City Hospital 30 beds, for
patients with diseases of the eye, or one bed for about every 3,500
inhabitants. The whole number of ophthalmic patients treated
at the Infirmary in 1869, was 3,328 ; in the City Hospital,
a little less than 2,000. Of course a considerable portion of
these patients come from the surrounding country ; but, on
the other hand, the patients treated in the hospitals are not so
numerous as those treated in practice, or not treated at all.

I infer from these and other data, that there is a constant
number of at least three thousand persons in this State who suf-
fer under acute or chronic affections of the eye, which unfit
them during an uncertain period of time for close application
to any study or work. The calculation is indeed a rough one ;
but the number is at least approximative, and is more likely to
be less than to be greater than the real one. The majority are

24 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

of course either too old or too young for school or college, but
many are not; and if the common course of instruction is
barred to them, a special one should be provided. If the book
of knowledge is closed to the sight, it ought to be opened to the
touch.

But however small this class, and however few of its members
should seek to profit by a collegiate institute, in which all in-
struction would be oral and all demonstrations tangible, there
is a large and persistent class of really blind persons which
would surely supply students enough to fill it.

There are sufficient data to warrant the conclusion that in a
population of forty millions in the temperate zone, there are
twenty thousand blind persons of all ages. So many doubtless
do exist in the United States.

About one thousand are under instruction, and there will
soon be many more.

From among the graduates of these primary institutions are
many who desire higher culture, who can profit by it, and who
ought to have it.

The different State legislatures would doubtless pay the cost
of educating a select number in the National Institute.

A little reflection will show what a great advantage generous
culture would be to a blind man, even if he were to be only a
musician. Let him be ever so accomplished in his immediate
art, he is under great disadvantages as compared with his
competitors who can see. But if, besides being a musician,
he knows the Latin, Italian, and German languages, and has
generous culture in other branches of knowledge, he will have
advantages which few of them possess, and of course he will
be more nearly on a level with them, and more capable of
earning a living and enjoying it.

Human effort will in such a case be successful in counteract-
ing the principal evil which flows from the infirmity of blindness.

It is, in part, with a view to founding and endowing such a
national Collegiate Institute and Musical Conservatory for the
Blind, that more funds are needed.

If we should succeed in raising $100,000 for this purpose,
I trust that we shall avoid the common error of investing too
large a proportion of it in brick and mortar. It will be wise
to dispense with any buildings for boarding and lodging the

1869.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 28. 25

scholars, and to hire their board in neighboring families ;
because all the disadvantages of the method adopted in most
of our colleges, (which is a cross between convent and bar-
racks,) are intensified in case of the blind. No external influ-
ences should favor the tendency which a common infirmity
readily engenders, to social segregation of the sufferers, and
to a spirit of caste among themselves.

All that will be absolutely necessary in the way of special
buildings will be two structures : one with rooms for lectures
and recitations, and for collections of models ; another building
for music hall, instruction rooms, practising rooms, etc. The
buildings could be erected in wood for 120,000 each, above the
cost of land. The first could be provided with a nucleus of col-
lections of models, and of a museum of natural history, for about
$5,000 ; and with printing press and the means of embossing,
for 15,000 more. The collections would almost certainly be in-
creased by donations. The music hall could be provided with
an organ, ten pianofortes, and a collection of musical instru-
ments, for about $15,000. Everything, however, will have to
be done in the plainest and most economical manner.

The balance could be funded, and the income devoted to
paying the salaries of professors. It is reasonable to expect
that a small moderate yearly allowance would be made by the
legislature of our State ; and that other States would send a
number of select pupils from their several institutions, and pay
a suitable price for their education. If there were a fund large
enough to pay by its interest the salaries of professors, the other
current expenses would be small.

Location.

The question of location of such an establishment should be
settled mainly in view to two things : first, easy access to the
musical centre of a large city, so that students could- constantly
hear the best performers and associate with artists ; second,
to facilities for attending ordinary lectures upon such branches
of science and learning as they would hear with advantage.
Cambridge, perhaps, would be the most suitable place in the
United States.

There are certain strong considerations in favor of having
the college entirely separated from an ordinary Institution for

26 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

the Blind ; considerations which intelligent blind persons will
fully appreciate. Moreover it may be better, on some accounts,
that the collegiate institute should be entirely independent
of the other establishment, and be under a distinct board of
trustees.

I earnestly commend this matter to your immediate and close
attention, and to the favor of benevolent individuals, as the
next step to be taken for the elevation and the happiness of a
class who have been in all ages, and to a considerable extent
still are, classed among paupers and treated as dependents.
The offer of an opportunity to the most gifted among them for
broad and generous culture, would be only the logical result of
the successful effort to give to all of them the opportunity of
elementary instruction. Shall we not follow in the way which
duty commends to our conscience, and charity to our heart ?

The seminary should of course be open to the blind of both
sexes. Will not our women, who so earnestly crusade against
the shadowy disabilities of their sex, lend a hand to lessen the
consequences of an infirmity which constitutes positive disabil-
ity to industry and usefulness ?

The Printing Office.

* * * * During the year that charming and humanizing
work of fancy, the Old Curiosity Shop, has been printed at
our press at the expense of the author. It was a beautiful gift.
It gave great pleasure and enjoyment to our large household of
blind persons. The pupils read it with eager delight, and, I
believe, with profit also to themselves. Copies were sent to
the other State institutions and to the homes of blind persons
all over the country. It was everywhere received with joy and
thankfulness. In the schools the pupils contended for the first
reading. In many low houses, scattered over the country, a
blind man or woman, who had read and re-read a score of times
all the embossed books in use, stretched out their hands with
joy to receive this new gift, which for awhile turned their
darkness into light, and their solitude into society.

I have received many letters from blind persons which express
their gratitude for the gift. One of them, after expressing his
gratitude, says thoughtfully : " The Old Curiosity Shop will

1869.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 28. 27

show to blind children an example of patience and fortitude
which they cannot easily forget. Many of them will have,
through life, ample opportunity for the exercise of Little Nell's
virtues."

I earnestly hope that Mr. Dickens' example may be followed
by other writers, who have the means. An edition of any good
book, printed in raised letters, will carry comfort and joy to
many who sit in darkness. It must, however, be given, for the
cost is very high, and were it not, very few blind persons could
buy. But why should not elementary books at least be given
to them ? Our laws provide that school books may be furnished
without cost to those too poor to buy them. And who are so
poor as the blind ? Most of them are born poor. Indeed,
blindness is sometimes begotten of poverty, and is almost sure to
beget it in turn. If the books cannot be given by law, let them
be given by love. Our literary table groans under a load ; and
it would be well if a few crumbs should fall within the reach
of the blind.

Tares among the Wheat.

There are, indeed, some tares in the harvest. A few gradu-
ates of the institutions, overrating their own ability and acquire-
ments, underrating their disadvantages and difficulties, and
counting too much upon the general disposition to encourage
the blind, undertake tasks altogether beyond their strength.
Catching from seeing people the pestilent notion that manual
labor is not respectable, they shun work at trades, and try
something more genteel. Without natural abilities and apt-
ness for teaching, and without the necessary culture, they
attempt to give lectures, or exhibitions, or concerts ; or to teach
music ; and far the most part make sad failures. Their failure
brings despair to them, and discredit to the blind as a class.

Still greater discredit and harm is done by a few, the most
unfortunate of all, who profiting by the ready sympathy which
their infirmity excites, impose upon the public and obtain money
under false pretences of various kinds. But abuses will follow
among the blessings conferred upon any class by the first efforts
at their elevation and improvement. No unusual proportion
of abuses has arisen among the blind.

3|f 3jt '1* 7N ^ TP" ' "3P

28 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

Beggars, Swindlers, &c.

In consequence of the impositions practised upon the public,

and the harm done to our cause by unworthy graduates of our

own, and of other State institutions, I have felt constrained to

insert a caution in our public papers, in the following terms : —

* * * * The cause of the education of the blind suffers, and
worthy blind persons are mortified, by a few of their number per-
verting the instruction and advantage they have received, for the
purpose of imposing upon the public, and leading idle lives. Some
of them who have been taught to work, and who can have work,
prefer to go about the country, giving bad music and poor recita-
tions, which people are importuned to attend and to pay for, not
because of any intrinsic merit, but merely because the performers
are blind.

Some of them put up at expensive hotels, and live luxuriously by
sponging the landlords. Taking advantage of the ready sympathy
which blindness excites, they get free passage on railroads and
steamboats, and even upon ocean steamers, and importune the
benevolent in various ways. One pretending to be a clergyman,
gets into pulpits, and takes up contributions, nominally to promote
the education of the blind, but never gives a cent for the purpose.
Another has been going about the country, principally the Western
and Southwestern States, several years, and is known to have col-
lected several thoitsand dollars, for an imaginary "Printing House''''
for the blind, which has never yet printed a sheet. There is some-
thing about the proceedings of one of the agents of this enterprise,
which smacks not only of humbug, but of a cruel swindle.

Another, after years spent in travelling up and down the country,
living and dressing luxuriously, calls for an annuity for the decline
of life, &c. They are so importunate, they have so much effront-
ery, they gather so much money, that when really deserving per-
sons apply for aid it is hard to be obtained.

Dreadful is the calamity of blindness ; and some sufferers, in
spite of all their efforts at self-support, must be aided. For their
sakes, and for the best interests of the blind generally, all persons
are requested to investigate each case carefully before giving money
or promises.

State institutions, and organized societies for the aid of the blind,
exist in all parts of the United States. Application to them will
reveal the character of most of those who solicit subscriptions. It
may prevent the bold and undeserving from getting what should
be given to modest and worthy sufferers.

1869.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 28. 29

ACTS AND RESOLVES RELATING TO THE INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND.

1838.

Acts, chap. 113. Incorporation, March 2. (Abstract thereof.)

Sect. 1. Incorporating Jonathan Phillips, William Prescott, and others, as
the New England Asylum for the Blind.

Sect. 2. Authorizing them to hold property for the maintenance of the
Asylum, the income thereof not to exceed f 30,000.

Sect. 3. Providing for the admission of State beneficiaries, not to exceed
thirty, the same to be selected by the legislature, or some officer thereto
appointed.

Sect. 4. Twelve trustees to have charge of the Asylum ; eight of them to
be chosen by the Corporation, and four by the Board of Visitors.

Sect. 5. The Corporation to appoint officers, and make regulations for the
management of the Asylum.

Sect. 6. The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, President of the Senate,
and Speaker of the House, with the Chaplains of the Legislature, to consti-
tute a Board of Visitors.

Sect. 7. The State to pay for its beneficiaries at the rate fixed by the
Corporation for other inmates.

Sect. 8. Authorizing change of name, when deemed expedient.

Sect. 9. Provision for calling first meeting.

183©.

Resolves, chap. 81. Allowing the unexpended balance of the appro-
priation for the deaf and dumb to be paid to the New England Asylum for
the Blind the current year, and from time to time thereafter, upon the Gov-
ernor's warrant, unless other disposition thereof be made by the General
Court.

1831.

Institution organized under direction of Sam'l G. Howe.

1833.

Resolves, chap. 28. $6,000 to be paid annually, during the pleasure of
the legislature : provided, that in consideration of this and former grants,
(i. e., of the unexpended balance of the deaf and dumb appropriation,) the
Asylum shall care for twenty poor persons belonging to the State, to be
selected by the Governor and Council, and to be dismissed from the Asylum
by them, — the State beneficiaries not to be under six nor over twenty-four
years old.

Resolves, chap. 36. Giving the power of selection of State beneficiaries
to the Governor alone.

30 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

Resolves, chap. 49. Allowing $9,000 annually, on condition that the
Asylum shall receive forty State beneficiaries, if so many shall be recom-
mended, in accordance with the Resolves of 1833, chaps. 28 and 36. All
previous grants repealed.

Resolves, chap. 77. Appropriating $5,000 for a work-shop for adults
provided the Asylum add thereto a like sum, and any other sums that may
be necessary to complete the building.

1855.

Resolves, chap. 62. Increasing the annual appropriation to $12,000,
commencing April 1, 1855.

1661.

Resolves, chap. 51. Appropriating $3,000 in addition to the regular
amount, ($12,000,) provided the trustees admit all such persons as the Gov-
ernor may designate, and educate them gratuitously.

1863-63.

Resolves, chap. 84, 1862, and chap. 65, 1863, repeat the preceding
grant.

1861.

Resolves, chap. 56. Increasing the annual appropriation from $12,000
to $16,000, provided that the trustees shall receive and gratuitously educate
all such indigent persons, or the children of indigent persons, as the Governor
may designate, and that no charge shall be made to the Commonwealth for
clothing furnished to State beneficiaries.

Acts, chap. 96. The Governor to annually appoint four trustees, who
shall hold office one year, or until their successors are appointed. Vacancies
occurring by death or resignation to be filled by the Governor. Such por-
tion of chap. 113 of the Acts of 1828, as authorizes the appointment of
trustees by a Board of Visitors, is repealed. This Act not to take effect until
accepted by the Corporation, at a meeting to be called for that purpose.

1865.

Resolves, chap. 17. The trustees to fix the price for beneficiaries, with
Governor's approval, the amount to be fixed in each case with reference to
the ability of beneficiaries, or their parents, to contribute to their support.

1866.

Resolves, chap. 36. $4,000 allowed for current expenses, in addition to
the regular appropriation, ($16,000.)

1867.

Resolves, chap. 19. Like the preceding.

1869.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 28. 31

1868.

Resolves, chap. 12. $9,000 allowed in addition to the regular appropria-
tion of $16,000.

Resolves, chap. 14. $15,000 allowed for buildings, — work-shop, laundry,
&c ,— to be paid when a similar sum has actually been raised by the friends
of the Asylum.

1869.

Resolves, chap. 19. $5,000 annually to be allowed, additional to sums
authorized by chap. 56, Resolves of 1864, and chap. 12, Resolves of 1868,
making the annual appropriation this year and hereafter, $30,000, subject to
the condition of chap. 56, Resolves of 1864, to supersede the appropriation
($16,000) made by chap. 27, Acts of 1869.

Resolves, chap. 71. That there be allowed and paid to the trustees of
the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, the sum of
$80,000, and the same is hereby appropriated for the purpose of erecting
suitable buildings for the use of the institution, the same to be paid from time
to time in instalments, as may be certified to be necessary by the trustees :
provided, that no portion of the said sum shall be paid until the said trustees
shall have conveyed to the Commonwealth by a good and sufficient deed,
and free from all incumbrances, the land on which the buildings to be
erected shall stand, and so much adjacent thereto as the Governor and
Council shall require ; and until the plans for said buildings, and the esti-
mates therefor, shall have been approved by the Governor and Council.

32 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

TERMS OF ADMISSION

Blind persons, under sixteen years of age, of good moral character, can be
admitted to the Junior Department by paying $300 per annum. This sum
covers all ordinary expenses, except for clothing ; namely, board, washing,
the use of books, musical instruments, &c. In cases of severe sickness,
requiring extra nursing and medicaL attendance, an extra charge must be
made. The pupils must furnish their own clothing, and pay their own fares
to and from the Institution.

Indigent blind persons, of suitable age and character, belonging to Massa-
chusetts, can be admitted gratuitously, by application to the Governor for a
warrant.

The following is a good form, though any other will do :

" To His Excellency the Governor:

" Sir, — My son, (or my daughter, or nephew, or niece, as the case may
be,) named A. B., and aged , cannot be instructed in the common schools
for want, of sight. I am unable to pay for the tuition at the Perkins Institu-
tion and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, and I request that your Excel-
lency will grant a warrant for free admission.

" Very respectfully ."

The application may be made by any relation or friend, if the parents are
dead or absent.

It should be accompanied by a certificate from one or more of the select-
men of the town, or aldermen of the city, in this form :

" I hereby certify that, in my opinion, Mr. is not a wealthy

person, and that he cannot afford to pay $300 per annum for his child's
instruction. (Signed,) ."

There should also be a certificate, signed by some regular physician, in
this form :

" I certify that, in my opinion, cannot see well enough to

be taught in common schools ; and that he is free from epilepsy, and from any
contagious disease. (Signed,) ."

These papers should be done up together, and directed to " The Secretary
of the Commonwealth, State House, Boston, Mass."

1869.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 28. 33

An obligation will be required from some responsible persons, that the pupil
shall be removed without expense to the Institution, whenever it may be
desirable to discharge him.

The usual period of tuition is from five to seven years.

Indigent blind persons residing in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Con-
necticut and Rhode Island, by applying as above to the " Commissioners for
the Blind, care of the Secretary of State," in the respective States, can
obtain warrants of free admission.

Adult blind persons, of good character, and in good health, who wish to
learn a trade, can be admitted to the work-department, and be taught some
handicraft gratuitously. They have to board in private families, and the cost
must be paid by their relatives. If the relatives are poor, then application
should be made for aid to the town or State authorities, to meet this expense.
Such persons seldom need to remain over a year. They can usually earn
enough after that time to provide, in part at least, for themselves.

For further particulars, address Dr. S. G. Howe, Director of the Institu-
tion for the Blind, Boston, Mass.

The relatives or friends of the blind who may be sent to the institution,
are requested to furnish information in answer to the following questions :

1. What is the name and age of the applicant ?

2. Where born ?

3. Was he born blind ? If not, at what age was the sight impaired ?

4. Is the blindness total or partial ?

5. What is the supposed cause of the blindness ?

6. Has he ever been subject to fits ?

7. Is he now in good health and free from eruptions and contagious dis-
eases of the skin ?

8. Has he ever been to school ? If yes, where ?

9. What is the general moral character of the applicant ?

10. Is he gentle and docile in temper, or the contrary ?

11. Has he any peculiarity of temper and disposition ?

12. Of what country was father of the applicant a native ?

13. What was the general bodily condition and health of the father — was
he vigorous and healthy, or the contrary ?

14. Was the father of the applicant ever subject to fits or scrofula ?

15. Were all his senses perfect ?

16. Was he always a temperate man ?

17. About how old was he when the applicant was born ?

18. Was there any known peculiarity in the family of the father of the
applicant; that is, were any of the grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts,
brothers, sisters or cousins, blind, deaf or insane, or afflicted with any infirmity
of body or mind ?

19. If dead, at what age did he die, and of what disorder ?

20. Where was the mother of the applicant born ?

21. What was the general bodily condition of the mother of the applicant —
strong and healthy, or the contrary ?

84 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. [Oct.

22. Was she ever subject to scrofula or to fits ?

23. Were all her senses perfect ?

24. Was she always a temperate woman ?

25. About how old was she when the applicant was born ?

26. How many children had she before the applicant was born ?

27. Was she related by blood to her husband ? if so, in what degree — 1st,
2d or 3d cousins ?

28. If dead, at what age did she die, and of what disorder ?

29. Was there any known peculiarity in her family ; that is, were any of
her grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, children or cousins
either blind, or deaf or insane, or afflicted with any infirmity of body or
mind?

30. What are the pecuniary means of the parents or immediate relatives of
the applicant?

31. How much can they afford to pay towards the support and education
of the applicant?

1869.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 28.

MEMBERS OF THE CORPORATION.

All persons who have contributed twenty-five dollars to the funds of the
Institution, all who have served as Trustees or as Treasurer, and all who
have been elected by special vote, are members.

Amory, James S.
Apthorp, Robert E.
Atkinson, Edward.
Atkinson, Wm.
Austin, James T.

Beard, A. W.
Bellows, A. J.
Bouve, Thos. T.
Bowditch, Nathaniel.
Brewer, Thos. M.
Brewster, Osmyn.
Brimmer, Martin.
Brooks, Edward.
Brooks, Francis.

Chandler, Theophilus P.
Claflin, Lee.
Claflin, Wm.
coolidge, a.
Cummins, John.

Davis, James.
Davis, John.
Denny, Daniel.
DePeyster, Aug.
Dix, J. H.

DlXWELL, J. J.

Eliot, Samuel A.

Ellis, F.

Emerson, George B.

Emery, Francis F.
Emery, Isaac.
Emmons, Nathaniel H.
Endicott, Wm., Jr.

Fisher, Freeman.
Fisk, Benjamin.
Fuller, A. W.

•

Goddard, Benjamin.
Grant, B. B.
Gray, Horace.
Gray, John C.
Gray, Thomas.
Greenleaf, R. C.

Hale, George S.

Hall, D.

Hall, Jeremiah.

Hall, N.

Hill, Hamilton A.

Hovey, C. F.

Howe, Samuel G.

Jackson, Patrick T.
Jackson, Sarah.
Jackson, Wm. M.
Jarvis, Edward.
Johnson, S., Jr.

Kinsley, E. W.

INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND.

[Oct.

Lawrence, A.
Livermore, Isaac.
Lord, Melvin.
Loring, Joseph.
Loud, Samuel P.
Lowell, Augustus.
Lowell, J. A.
Lyman, George W.
Lyman, Theodore.
Lyman, Joseph.

Mack, Thomas.
May, Samuel.
Minott, Wm.
Morton, Edwin.
Mudge, E. R.

Palmer, Julius A.
Parkman, Francis.
Parkman, John.
Parkman, Mrs. Sarah.
Parks, Luther.
Parsons, Thomas.
Perkins, Edward N.
Perkins, Wm.
Peters, Edward D.
Pickman, John S.
Preston, Jonathan.

Quincy, Josiah.

Reed, B. T.
Revere, Joseph W.
Robinson, Henry.
Rogers, Wm. B.
Rotch, Benj. S.
Russell, Mrs. Sarah S.

Saltonstall, Leverett.
Sears, David.
Simpson, John K.
Slack, C W.
Snelling, Samuel.
Stephenson, John H.
Stickney, Josiah.
Sturgis, James.
Sumner, Chas.

Taylor, Chas.
Thaxter, Joseph B., Jr.
Ticknor, George.

Wales, George B.
Wales, Thomas B.
Wigglesworth, Misses.
Wilder, Marshall P.
Williams, S. G.
Winslow, George.
Winthrop, Robert C.
Woods, Henry.

1869.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 28.

OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION,

18 6 9-70.

PRESIDENT.

SAMUEL MAY.

VICE-PRESIDENT.

JOSEPH LYMAN.

TREASURER.

WM. ENDIC OTT, Jr.

SECRETARY.

SAMUEL G. HOWE.

TRUSTEES.

ROBERT E. APTHORP.
FRANCIS BROOKS.
THOMAS T. BOUVE.
SAMUEL ELIOT.
GEORGE S. HALE.
JOSEPH LYMAN.

E. R. MUDGE.
EDWARD N. PERKINS.
JOSIAH QUINCY.
BENJAMIN S. ROTCH.
SAMUEL S. SNELLING.
JAMES STURGIS.

VISITING COMMITTEE

For October,
November,
December,
January,
February,
March,
April, .
May, .
June, .
July, .
August,
September,

Messrs. APTHORP and BOUVE.
BOUVE and BROOKS.
BROOKS and PERKINS.
PERKINS and HALE.
HALE and LYMAN.
LYMAN and MUDGE.
MUDGE and QUINCY.
QUINCY and ROTCH.
ROTCH and SNELLING.
SNELLING and STURGIS.
STURGIS and APTHORP.

Tit'-

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