Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 May 1877 — The Dictionary as an Imstructer. [ARTICLE]

The Dictionary as an Imstructer.

We notice as a melter well worth mentioning tjiat at the recent great publishers’ trade sale in New York, the books that were most in de* mand and brought the best prices were Webster’s Dictionaries, from the famous Qaar to to the neat and handy pocket edition. This fact is a good indication of, the almost universal popularity of then* books, and of the growing public demand for them. It indicates also a fact of far greater importance, and that is the interest the people are taking in the study of their own language. This is encouraging, as there is no branch of education that is now and has been so mueh neglected as. the common, branches of spelling and Refining. It is often astonishing and grievous to see how grossly ignorant are children- and youth, and oven men and womSn, of the orthography, pronunciation and meaning of ordinary words and phrases. They cannot express their thoughts for want of words, and often they express thought* very different from what they intend, because they do not understand the words they employ. And very frequently, froin tiie same cause, they take no idea, or wrong ideas, from what they read or hear. The remedy for these evils is the proper training in they study of words, by the use of the Dictionary, and this training should begin as soon as the can dislingnish between one word and another, and continue indefinitely. The apparatus for this study should, of course, be the most complete and thorough to be had, and this Is abundantly supplied in Webster’s Dictionaries, which are justly recognized, whereever our language is spoken, as the ctaudard authority in English. Parents and teachers can in no other way so effectually or so cheaply promote the educational interests of their children, when of suitable age, ns by putting in their hands any one' us Webster’s School Dictionaries, for daily use in connection with the study of their lessons, arid by placing on the family center table, or the teacher’s desk as tlie authoftative guide and standard, a copy of the Unabridged. The unal ridged contains 3,000 illustrations, over 114,000 words in it* vocabularies, and 10,000 words and meanings not in any other Dictionary; the abridged editions comprise “The Primary,” which has the largest stile, and which has some capital rules for spelling. “The but larger, with tables of synonyms, ‘'The High School,” still faller, With many useful tables; “The Academic” and “Counting--house” for advanced schools and for general home and business use. The latfer lias some specially valuable commercial and financial tables. The little “Pocket” edition, with its bright gilt edges and moroeoo binding, is truly an invaluable pocket companion. It con tains more than 18,00 u words, rules far spelling, many abreviatio|w, words and phrases, proverbs, etc.,, ordinarily met with »n the Greek, Latin, and Modern languages. Whether ft is convenient or not to have copies of any of the other books ot the serie*, we cerjajnly/ecommend. that ail should possess a copy of the wjwn not otherobtainable, may be had by mall, by inclosing SI.OO to the puoiishers, M&sks. Ivfeßsox, BhW man, Taylor <fc Co., 138 and 140 Grand Street, Now York