NEW ORLEANS 327 an area of over 1,000 sq. ft. ; 28 open pens, each with an area of about 1,125 sq. ft. ; 18 other pens for sheep, hogs, &c. ; two receiving pens, each of an area of 600 sq. ft., for cattle immediately to be slaughtered ; a slaughter house for cattle in 22 divisions, each of an area of 800 sq. ft. ; a slaughter house for smaller animals well supplied with hot as well as cold water, and covering an area of 21,200 sq. ft. ; and 22 stables. These buildings are separated from each other by wide and well constructed causeways, and are lofty and airy. Attached to them are two steam engines by which a plentiful supply of water is commanded and the fluid offal is pumped off, covered hide vats, an apparatus for the rapid curing of hides, and a Barbarin patent gas apparatus for lighting the whole establishment. Several dwellings and other buildings are also comprised within the property of the slaughter-house company. The average number of cattle slaughtered is about 1,000 a day in winter and about TOO in summer. The slaughtering of any of these animals elsewhere within the city limits is prohibited by law. An inspector, appointed by the governor, examines all cattle killed and certifies to their fitness for food. The Howard association is one of the most promi- nent charitable bodies in the world, in view of the wide extent of its operations, the immense amounts it has disbursed, and the vast number of patients it has succored. Its special mission has been to labor for the relief of sufferers in epidemics, particularly of yellow fever and cholera. In these cases its operations have extended to every city and district in the south which has been afflicted. In seasons of epidemic infliction it has been the depositary of contributions from all parts of the country as well as from the citizens of New Orleans. The hospitals, infirmaries, and asylums in the city are some 55 in number. Prominent among them are the H6tel-Dieu and Charity, Luzen- berg, and smallpox hospitals; the Orleans, Touro, and Circus street infirmaries ; the Jew- ish widows' and orphans' home; and the John McDonogh asylum. The Charity hos- pital, founded by Don Andres Almonaster y Eoxas in 1784, is widely known. It has stood on its present site, in Common street, since 1832, affording a refuge to an average of 500 or 600 patients in ordinary seasons, and to nearly or quite double the number in others. Its domestic management is in the hands of the sisters of charity. It depends almost or entire- ly upon state appropriations, and hitherto has been well supported. The Hotel-Dieu, half a mile further back from the river, is a very fine hospital established by the sisters of charity, and supported entirely by receipts from pa- tients, some of whom are nevertheless bene- ficiary. It occupies a full square, and is sur- rounded by a well kept garden of shrubbery and flowers. Other prominent institutions are the Poydras female orphan asylum, in Maga- zine street, in the sixth district, the St. Anna's widows' asylum, the St. Vincent's orphan asy- lums, the indigent colored orphan asylum, the convent de la Sainte Famille for colored wid- ows, and the German Protestant asylum. The Touro almshouse, founded by Judah Touro, was burned during the civil war by colored troops who had occupied it. Unsuccessful efforts have been made to induce congress to grant an appropriation for the restoration of the buildings. Besides the relief afforded through the various channels already noticed, much more is derived from the freemasons, odd fellows, and numerous similar societies. To almost all the churches Sunday schools are attached, and a large proportion of them have also regular day schools connected with them. The Catholic church schools are very largely attended, the charges being very low, and in many cases entirely remitted. The pub- lic schools in the city are under state control, although the city is called upon to pay the taxes by which they are supported, amount- ing at present to $360,000 a year. The state board of education, consisting of the state su- perintendent and six division superintendents, appointed by the governor on the state super- intendent's recommendation, elect 18 directors for the city, who choose the assistant superin- tendent, secretary, assistant secretary, teachers, porters, &c. There are nearly 80 schools, inclu- ding one boys' high school and two girls' high schools.* The other schools are of five grades. There are employed on the average 425 teach- ers, of whom about nine tenths are females. The salaries vary from $2,400 a year for the principal and $1,500 for associates in the boys' high school, to an average of $T66 for teachers in the lowest grade. Teachers in the first grade of grammar schools get $1,500. There are very few private schools of any importance ex- cept those attached to religious bodies, and the great majority of others are for young ladies. The Peabody normal institute is supported from a fund bequeathed for such purposes by George Peabody. The Straight university, founded by Mr. Seymour Straight, is exclusive- ly for colored students. It has a corps of six teachers and an average attendance of 100 stu- dents. Its instruction is of good grammar school grade. There are separate schools, both public and private, for colored pupils ; and a few col- ored pupils have been admitted into some of the public schools which are nominally exclusive- ly attended by white pupils. Yet the general opposition to "mixed schools" is very deep- seated and resolute in the minds of the white population. The " Agricultural and Mechanical College," founded under a congressional grant of scrip for over 200,000 acres of land, opened in May, 1874, is a thoroughly "mixed school." As yet nothing has been taught in practical agriculture or mechanics. It has been estab- lished in one of the university buildings in the city, and has a professor of mathematics, a professor of chemistry, a tutor in mechanical drawing, and a tutor in modern languages and
