INSTITUTIONS. The first public. school for deaf mutes was established at Leipzig, in 1778. under the direction of Samuel Ileineeke. The systematic instruction of the deaf and dumb. and the intelligent organization of institutions in which to educate them, date from the early part of the nineteenth century. An essay on Teaching the Deaf to Speak, by Dr. W. Thornton of Philadelphia. was published in 1793, and in 1511 a grandson of Braidwood tried to establish a school in New York and Virginia, but failed in both instances. The circumstances which led to the opening of the Connecticut asylum at Dartford. April 15. 1517, are as follows: A deaf mute little girl in the family of Dr. Cogswell, an eminent physician in Hartford, attracting some attention, it was soon afterward, found that there were other deaf mutes in the country. It was decided to scud seine one abroad to acquire the art of educating them; and to establish a school for this purpose funds were raised, and the Rev. Thomas 11. Gallandet was selected for this work. lie left the United States, May 15. 1816, to execute this mission. The institution was incor porated by the Connecticut Legislature in May. 1816, with an appropriation of $5000. Dr. Gal returned to America in August of the same ?ear. accompanied by Laurent Clere, deaf-mute pupil of the Sicard, and they immediately commenced collecting funds to start the school. The enterprise excited general in terest; individuals and churches contributed lib erally. and the sum of 812,000 IV11, raised in the course of a few months. Early in 1819 the Government of _Massachusetts followed the ex ample of Connecticut by providing for the educa tion in the asylum of twenty indigent pupil from that State. The appropriation was after wards enlarged so as to meet the demands of this entire class. New Hampshire made a similar provision in 1821, and Vermont and Maine in 1825. In 1834 South Carolina and Georgia de cided to send their indigent deaf mutes to the asylum, and in 1848 Rhode island came into the same arrangement. In 1819 Congress made a grant to the institution of twenty-three acres of wild land, the proceeds of which now form a fund of $339.000. It was owing to this munificent gift that the name of the school was changed to the 'American Asylum.' Before the school at Hartford was in ulceration, efforts had been made to establish a similar institution in the city of New York; a society was formed which was incorporated April 1817. as the York Institution for Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb." Watson's book was taken as a guide. and articulation was taught in cases where the scholar appeared to possess the necessary apti tude. But this method did not prove very suc cessful: and in 1827 the Legislature, which had provided 1822 for the support of 32 pupils, authorized an investigation by the superinten dent of common schools of the State, who recom mended in his report the introduction into the uNew York school of the improved methods in use at Hartford and Philadelphia. In consequence
of that recommendation, the directors finally succeeded in engaging. in 1831, the permanent services of Harvey I'. Peet, then one of the most efficient instructors in the American Asylum. He served as principal from 1831 to 1867. and had a worthy successor in his son. Isaac Lewis Peet. Under the management of these two able teachers the institution has taken a place among the most successful schools for deaf mutes in the world. Its grounds comprise about 26 acres, upon the banks of the Hudson River at Washington Heights, New York City. The in stitution has a shoe-shop, tailor-shop, and car penter-shop, a printing-office, garden. and sewing rooms connected with the school. in which the pupils receive competent instruction to prepare them for self-support by manual labor. as in all our large asylums. The Pennsylvania institution was organized at Philadelphia in 1820 by Joseph Seixas. a Portmmese .Tew. Laurent Clere was an instructor in it. as was Lewis Weld. its first principal. The Kentucky Asylum for Deaf Notes was incorporated at Danville in 1S23. The Ohio institution opened iu Columbus in 1629. Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, North Carolina, Ueorgia, South Carolina, Nis NViseonsin, and Michigan followed the example during the succeeding quarter een tury, and now every State in the Union has an institution in which deaf mutes receive the privileges of education 'as wards of OW c0111111011 wealth: In most cases the State institutions are supported by annual legislative appropria tions. This public provision includes expenses of transportation to and from the institution and all expenses while there. Alost of the State insti tutions have school years corresponding to those of the public schools, and it is expected that friends or relatives will keep the children during the long summer vacation. The average term of attendance is about five years, but the legal period of instruction in most States is seven tears. The average cost to the State is about *325 per year. According to the report of the Commissioner of Edueation for 1S95-99. there were in the United States 104 schools (both pub lic and private). with 10.93S pupils. The follow ing table gives details regarding these: a pupil of Dr. Thomas H. Oallandet, of Hart ford: Laura Bridgman (q.v.), the celebrated blind deaf mute, a pupil of Dr. Howe, of Boston; and Helen Keller (q.v.), of Boston, in 1902 a college student of wide information and great intelligence.