OPINION OF MR. VOGDES.

(1) Did you teach geometry and trigonometry before Mr. Peale's appointment to the high school?—I did.

(2) Do you experience any decided facility in teaching these and kindred branches since his appointment and in consequence of his instructions?—I do. The boys are much more expert in drawing mathematical figures on the board and seem to understand them more perfectly when drawn.

OPINION OF MR. FRAZER.

(1) Do you experience any facility in teaching mechanics in the high school in consequence of Mr. Peale's instructions? - I have not been long in the school and do not know to what cause to attribute it, but I have certainly found the classes that come to me (A and B) manifest a readiness in comprehending and an expertness in executing complicated and difficult diagrams that I have never seen in a class elsewhere. And this readiness facilitates very much their progress in the branches which they study with me.

OPINION OF MR. BECKER.

(1) Have you taught writing elsewhere than in the high school? - I have.

(2) Have you experienced any facility in teaching writing at the high school in consequence of Mr. Peale's instructions in drawing? - Very great.

(3) Do the pupils learn more readily than pupils in other schools who have not learned to draw? They do.

(4) When you first commenced teaching writing in the high school did you find any difference in the improvement of the classes that you taught? - I did.

(5) Which classes improved most under your instruction, those which had been longest under Mr. Peale or those which had been least time with him? -- Those who had been longest with Mr. Peale made five times the improvement of the others. (6) Was this difference very striking? — It was.

(7) Did it occasion comment at the time? It did.

(8) When the classes had all been under your instructions one term, what proportion of Division A who had been longest with Mr. Peale executed specimens of writing that were deemed worthy of being exhibited at the examination? - Four-fifths.

(9) What proportion of those who had been the least time with Mr. Peale had specimens worthy of being shown at the examination? · One-twentieth.

(10) Do you find generally that the longer a class has been with Mr. Peale the more rapid is its progress? — I do.

(11) Have you modified in any respect your method of teaching writing in consequence of suggestions from Mr Peale ? - I have changed almost my whole manner of teaching writing in consequence of Mr. Peale's suggestions and find the greatest benefit from it. I could not have taught the pupils of the high school with the same success but for Mr. Peale's assistance and suggestions.

OPINION OF MR. FROST.

(1) Do the written exercises in composition of all the boys pass through your hands-They do.

(2) What was the general character of the writing in the school previous to Mr. Peale's appointment? It was miserably bad; the compositions were hardly legible. (3) After Mr. Peale's appointment and before Mr. Becker's did you perceive any difference in the writing?—I did perceive the most marked difference. The improvement was immediate and general and has been steadily increasing every time since. (4) Was this improvement noticed by you at the time?—It was.

(5) Was writing specifically taught in the school at the time this improvement took place-It was not.

(6) To what, then, do you attribute the change?-To the instructions which the boys received from Mr. Peale, which enabled them to do well anything which required ease and freedom of hand.

(7) Have you, in your own private school and elsewhere, had pupils in classes under the care of a writing master?—I have.

(8) Do you think the classes under Mr. Becker improve more, for the time which they have, than classes which you have seen elsewhere?—I do.

OPINION OF MR. HART (PRINCIPAL OF THE SCHOOL).

(1) Have you ever, in private schools, seen writing taught?—I have.

(2) Do you observe in the classes in the high school under Mr. Becker more rapid improvement in writing than classes elsewhere who were not instructed in off-hand drawing?—I do. In the school of which I was the principal in Princeton [the Edgehill School], 40 boys two hours a day with Mr. Becker's partner made less progress in writing than the 360 boys of the high school now do, Mr. Becker giving only 13 hours a week to the whole of them.

(3) How does the writing of the boys in the high school compare with that of boys in schools elsewhere?—I have never seen a school in which the mass of the writing was as good as it is here. When I was first introduced into the school I was at a loss to account for this excellence, having never before seen writing and drawing connected, knowing how little time is given in the school to writing by itself, and knowing also that the specimens of their writing, when they are examined for admission, are generally very poor.

(4) What degree of attention is paid to writing in other schools with which you are acquainted? —In my own school at Princeton, which consisted of boys in about the same stage of progress as the boys of the high school, one hour a day was given to writing by all the pupils at an expense of $200 for every 40 boys, or, in other words, $5 per annum for each pupil.

(5) Is Mr. Peale regular in the discharge of his duties at the high school?—I have never seen a young man of twenty more punctual, zealous, patient, and laborious. I have often wondered to see a man of his distinction as an artist as well as of his advanced age making such exertions and submitting to such vexations as are necessarily incident upon his situation in the school,

OPINION OF MR. BACHE (FORMER PRINCIPAL).

(1) Should instruction in drawing commence with drawing by the eye or with instruments - Both theory and experience show that instruction should begin by drawing by the eye.

(2) Should instruction in drawing commence with perspective and drawing from models or with drawing from patterns? - The difficulties of the beginner are increased by putting models before him at the outset.

(3) In learning to draw from patterns should a beginner commence with complex forms or with straight lines and simple geometrical curves?- Certainly by beginning with straight lines and simple curves.

(4) What are the things chiefly aimed at in learning to draw?—To train the eye to the accurate appreciation of forms and the hand to the accurate and ready imitation of them.

(5) Is the progression of exercises as given in Peale's Graphics adapted to facilitate the pupil in acquiring this accuracy of eye and freedom of hand? - The progression of exercises appears to have been very carefully studied; the details have a perfection which I have not seen in other systems.

(6) Does the practice of enlarging and diminishing drawings, as recommended by Mr. Peale, give any facility in training the eye and hand?—It is one of the strong points in Mr. Peale's course.

(7) Does the subsequent practice of drawing in perspective from models facilitate in training the eye and hand? — It is essential to a complete course; when the eye and hand are trained, the difficulties of perspective may be easily overcome.

(8) Would this training of the eye and hand be gained with as much ease and certainty by beginning to draw from models before copying patterns?—The more philosophical mode appears to be to begin by drawing first from patterns.

(9) Can this training of the eye and hand be acquired by drawing with instruments alone?—It cannot. On the contrary, the reliance which it begets upon the scale and dividers and the ruler and triangle is a disadvantage in the subsequent attempts to acquire facility in drawing by the eye and without instruments.

(10) Is a person who begins to draw with instruments likely to acquire habits of eye and hand that will impede his progress in becoming an expert draughtsman ↑ – He is, for the reason just stated. The fact is proved by experience.

(11) Does a person who has learned to draw by the eye alone experience any facility in afterwards drawing with instruments? Undoubtedly, great facility.

(12) Does learning to draw by the eye give any facility in learning to write?The principles of form and proportion involved in writing and drawing are the same. The influence of a knowledge of drawing upon facility in acquiring a good handwriting is generally acknowledged by those who have examined the subject.

(13) What is your opinion of the propriety of connecting writing and drawing? – Writing is an application of the general principles of drawing, requiring merely a peculiar practice of hand, in addition to readiness in recognizing and imitating forms.

(14) What opportunities have you had of observing the manner of teaching writing elsewhere?—I have examined closely the modes of teaching in the best schools at home and abroad.

(15) What was the result of your observation? —That where writing was connected with drawing, as it is imperfectly in the system of Pestalozzi, the best results were produced. To shorten the time of teaching writing in some of the schools which I visited in Europe, the pupils were made to begin with small hand, and with the worst results. The eye is not trained to judge of forms on a proper scale, small imperfections escaping detection in small letters. Neither is the hand trained to freedom of action. It would require much space to bring out satisfactorily the results of my observation upon this point, but as far as they bear upon the subject in hand I have given them in the first lines of my statement. These opinions were formed before I was particularly acquainted with Mr. Peale or his system of graphics.

(16) Is Mr. Peale's method of connecting drawing and writing a discovery in the science of education?—I have no doubt that the idea originated with Mr. Peale, but it had before been promulgated by Pestalozzi.

(17) What was the opinion of Pestalozzi in regard to this subject? — Language, number, and form were the three great divisions under which Pestalozzi endeavored to group elementary knowledge. Drawing and writing were necessarily classed together in his system.

(18) What weight is due to the opinion of Pestalozzi? — Very great. He is one of the highest authorities in matters of education.

(19) Does learning to draw by the eye facilitate materially any other branch of instruction? Many; geography, especially, among the elementary branches; mathematics and its application; mechanics and natural philosophy; chemistry; natural history.

(20) Does learning to draw by the eye facilitate any of the mechanic arts? — The superiority of particular nations in certain branches of the mechanic arts has been traced to their superiority in the art of drawing. It is a tool of universal application.

(21) Would it be of advantage to every young person, whatever his intended occupation, to learn to draw?-I think that it would. The improvement of the senses

should be one of the objects of education. To recognize, to judge of, and to imitate forms, is a source of pleasure and often of profit.

(22) Is the time given in the high school to this department (less than two hours a week) sufficient to extend the course of instruction advantageously to any other branches of drawing than pencil drawing from patterns and models?-1 doubt whether it is, but the experience upon this point is not yet sufficient to decide the question. If the pupil came to the school with a knowledge of the elements of drawing, its applications would form the fitting subjects of the high school course.

(23) If a boy learn pencil drawing from patterns and models in the mauner proposed by Mr. Peale, can he without difficulty after leaving school learn its application to the various mechanic arts?-Certainly.

(24) Do the specimens herewith submitted evince any proficiency in off-hand drawing?-Remarkable proficiency for the time during which the pupils have been under instruction.

(25) Could these specimens have been executed by persons ignorant of the principles of drawing?-They could not.

(26) Could they have been executed with equal facility and accuracy without previous training of the eye and hand in drawing from patterns?-Certainly not. The pupils have not had to think of the mode of making the lines, but only of their directions and proportions.

(27) If the boys who executed these specimens continue to receive two lessons a week for a year to come, will they by the end of that time probably have become so far proficient in pencil drawing as to be able to apply it to the various arts of life? — Undoubtedly.

(28) In what manner did you, yourself, learn drawing?—I was instructed at West Point. We drew from patterns. The difficulties which I encountered from the want of such instruction as Mr. Peale gives are fresh in my recollection.

(29) What opportunities have you had for knowing the manner in which drawing is taught generally?—The opportunity of examining many schools at home and abroad.

(30) What is the method in which drawing is generally taught? - In a subject so generally taught by so many persons and for so long a time, the methods are, of course, various. The prevailing mode is by drawing from patterns, especially in schools where drawing is intended as a branch of general education.

(31) Wherein does Mr. Peale's system differ from the system generally practised? - In the clear statement of principles, the careful establishment of the elementary basis, and the gradually progressive steps. I have remarked that the different improvements which I saw abroad had been recognized by Mr. Peale in his study of the subject and were to be found in his Graphics.

(32) Is the theory and practice of geometric perspective generally considered as belonging to the department of drawing or to that of mathematics? - Always to the department of mathematics.

(33) Does geometric perspective generally precede or follow drawing by the eye and hand - The practice varies, but from a comparison of the results, I am satisfied that elementary drawing should come first.

(34) Should machine drawing be considered as the basis of all drawing, or a mere application of general principles? - Merely an application of the general principles of drawing.

(35) What is your opinion of the assiduity and fidelity of Mr. Peale as an instructor? I have never seen a more assiduous or more faithful instructor than Mr. Peale. (36) Do men who are advanced in life before beginning to teach easily change their habits and acquire readily skill in teaching? - Such examples of success are very

rare.

(37) Do artists and men of genius readily submit to the confinement and vexations incident upon teaching mixed classes? - Seldom.

(38) Did you, while principal of the school, observe in Mr. Peale anything worthy of remark in this respect?- Mr. Peale's system embodying the best features of the various methods I had examined, I was anxious to have it introduced into the high school, supposing that Mr. Peale would be able to train up some one to teach the system. I certainly thought that the difficulties of teaching large classes and of their discipline and the never ending petty vexations of the school room would finally disgust an artist of warm temperament who encountered them late in life. I did not suppose that the zeal of the inventor would be proof against the drudgery of putting the details of his system into every-day operation. I consider Mr. Peale's success as a most remarkable circumstance-due to a steadiness of purpose, closeness of observa-、 tion, and scrupulous fidelity of character which very few men possess.

(39) Did you, while principal of the school, observe any benefit in other departments derived from the instruction in Mr. Peale's department — The writing of the pupils when I took charge of the high school was very bad. Soon after the introduction of Mr. Peale as a teacher, my attention was called to a manifest improvement in the handwriting, as shown in the exercises in the belles lettres department. I caused a set of written exercises to be marked and compared with the marks for penmanship of the same persons just after admission to the school. There was a decided gain. This was before direct instruction had been given in writing. The time came when from the increase in the number of pupils it was necessary to provide an assistant to Mr. Peale, and Mr. Becker was introduced. In six months twenty boys out of twenty-five in the first division produced good specimens of penmanship, while but three out of sixty in the lowest division produced results worthy of exhibition. The divisions had been nearly the same number of hours under Mr. Becker's charge, but the training under Mr. Peale had given the elder ones the accuracy of eye and readiness of hand necessary for writing. The drawing of figures in the mathematical department was much improved, and the style of the school records totally changed. For business purposes the education of these boys is increased very much in value by the course of drawing and writing.

(40) Have you ever heard from artists, and men of other professions qualified to judge, any expression of opinion in regard to Mr. Peale's system? - Frequently; I have heard artists, mechanics, engineers, and others well qualified to judge, speak of Mr. Peale's system in very high terms.

The following is the formal report made by these gentlemen to the committee of the controllers:

To the committee appointed by the controllers of the public schools of the first

district of Pennsylvania to investigate the merits of Professor Peale's system of graphics : From an examination of the drawings by the scholars of the high school which we have made at your request, we are satisfied with the efficacy of Professor Peale's course of instruction, as developed in his publication entitled "Graphics," which, commencing with simple and regular lines, advances gradually into the more complex and irregular, so as to render every known principle in elementary drawing intelligible to the attentive student; the eye and hand being thus trained to accuracy, practice and facility are further obtained by copying from drawings and prints; and especially by drawing them on a larger or smaller scale, which confirms and familiarizes the principles previously taught, and prepares the student for drawing from solid objects and the study of perspective by the eye and by geometric rules. have also examined the pencil drawings of the same scholars executed off-hand by the eye alone, without instruments or measuring, from objects in relief, and pronounce them satisfactory evidences of the correct and useful tendency of their course of study; and, finally, that the system of graphics, as carried into practice in the Central High School, is well calculated to form a part of public education preparatory to writing and other branches of study, and useful in every situation in life.

PHILADELPHIA, February 8, 1843.

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