822 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE' OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS-BULLETIN NO. 160. A. C. TRUE, Diree' SCHOOL GAI-7:3-i)8-!), This Office has for several )'('ars past been devoti ng considerable nt tout ion to matters relating to the various grades nnd forms of agrieultul'al instruction, and the subject of agriclLltural education ilflS been made one 0 r th« special features of its work. In the classi- fication of the subject-nuu tcr and the outlining of courses for ole- menta r)' and college gradl's it has enjoyed the cooperation of various Bureaus of the Department, ant} has thus been ennbled to combine in its publicnt ions tho more stl'ietl)' t('ehnical and tho pl'dagogieal l'l'atlll'l's. TI1('rc is, fortunatclv, a growing tendency among technical illH·stigators to 1'(,latl' their work in sonic measure to the teaching of agricllltll re. The-e men, repl'('s('n t ing (1ifl'oron t SII lxl i visions of agri- r-ulturnl science and practice, can bo of great service in th» develop- mont of various phases of agricultural instruction. The interest of t h« Bureau of Plant Industry in the school-garden movement is naturallv connected with its cultural phases especially, and is from the standpoint of work with plants as a means of instruc- tion. 'With the facilities at its disposal in the way of exports, green- houses, seeds, and other materials, it has been able to stimulate gCll- (3) 4 erul interest in this subject, and to contribute materially to the success of local efforts. The methods which it has followed, espe- cially in its work with the normal school teachers, will be of wide- spread interest as showing the advantages of expert advice and some simple facilities for instruction. I recommend that this account be published as Bulletin No. HiO of this Office, where it will form a valuable addition to the publica- tions already issued on agricultural education. Respectfully, E. ",Y. ALLEN, A.ctillfj Director. lIon .. T.UlES ". ILSOX, Secretary of .1fjl'iclllture. CO~TEXTS. Introduction .... . . _ Garden work in the District of Columbia Public schools N orrnal Schor l No.2 __. Garden work in some other cities School of Horticulture. Hartford, Connecticut Kindergarten gardens. Hartford. Connecticut Public schools, Bcston , Massachusetts Public schools. Brookline. Massachusetts State Normal School, Hyannis. Massachusetts Public schools. Worcester. Massachusetts Public schools. St, Louis. Misaouri C( r 1<'11 University, Ithaca. ew York De Witt Clinton Park, New York City Public School No.4. New York City Public schools. Rochester. ew York Garden School, Yonkers, New York Home Gardening Association. Cleveland, Ohio .Pu lie schools. Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Hampton Institute, Hampton. Virginia (G) ILLUSTRATIONS. Page. Pr,ATF. I. School garden work at Washington, D. C. Fig. 1.-Normal school students at work in a greenhouse of the Department of Agriculture. Fig. 2.-Nonnal school students plowing fur- rows and planting tree seeds 10 II. School garden work at Washington, D. C. Fig. l.-The grounds of the Franklin S'hool before improvement by pupils of the second, seventh, and eighth grades, Fig. 2.-Vacation com- mittee at work in garden of second-grade children, Franklin School. four months after planting 10 III. School garden work at Wa hington, D. C. Fig. 1.-Garden plats laid out by sixth-grade boys in the grounds of the Department of Agriculture. Fig. 2.-Garden plats shown in figure 1. six weeks after planting 14 IV. School garden work at Hartford, Conn. Fig. I.-Teachers' class at the School of Horticulture. conducted on Saturday morn- ings. Fig. 2.-Kindergarten classes at the Wadsworth School, showing garden containing 288 plats 20 V. School garden work at Washington. D. C., and Hampton, Va, Fig. 1.-Yard of normal school student, Washington. D. C., showing open lawn and mass border planting. Fig. 2.-Chil- dren at work in garden of the Whittier Hchool.Hampton Insti- tnte, Hampton, Va 4-1- (0) SOHOOL GARDENS; A REPORT UPON SOME COOPERA TIVE WORK WITH THE NORMAL SCHOOLS OF WASHINGTON, WITH NOTES ON SCHOOL· GARDEN METHODS FOLLOWED IN OTHER AMERICAN CITIES. INTRODUCTION. During the past few years there has been a growing interest in school garden work in this country. 'While the movement here is comparatively new, it has for a long time been a feature of the educational work in continental Europe. It is obvious that no set rules can be laid down for the management of a school garden. In the heart of a city the work may be an entirely different thing from what it is in a rural or sernirura l district. In the city the main idea may be an sesthetic one, combined with moral and physical training. The general trend of the work in this country is practical, so that its application will eventually have more or less effect on our indus- trial development. Manual training has been made a feature in many of our schools, and no one will deny that valuable results have boon obtained from it. Agricnlturc in its broadest sense is the primary basis of wealth in this countrv, and it seems essential that efforts should be made in our educational system to bring early to the mind of the child facts which will he of value as emphasizing the importance and necessity of agricult ural work. There is no better way to do this than through a well-managed and well-conducted system of school garden train- ing. •\side from the fact tha t the interest of the child is early awakened in an industry which means much to the future prosperity of this country, there is often a broader application of the work in its moral effect on the child. Then, the work is valuable in broad- Piling line's of thought, ('nlarging the scope of tho child's observation, and improving its physique. It has been well said that-- In the school garden the Iact should always be kept prominent that the pupil is to be the most active f'\dor. '\"e call put thiugs in his way to help him develop properly and keep him from some of the things that fail so to help him. but wo can not do his dovoloplna for him, and if he is to have a knowledge of the elementary principles of lifl:', of irulustry, of munkiud, of beauty and (7) 8 justice, ho must grow into thoso things hy means of first-hand experience with them. 1'0 obta ln this growth ana to ellrnlnate soiuo undeslrnhle things in the school, the school gurden should r-erln lnlv prove efficlent. The Bureau of Plant Industry naturally has been much interested in this movement through the contact of its workers with the educa- tional movement generally. Efforts have been made to arouse inter- est in school gardens through various publications, but primarily through the distribution of seed. When the work of handling and distributing the Congressional seed was turned over t.o the Bureau of Plant Industry, four or five years ago, it was concei ved that good might result from a modification of some of the methods of d is- tribllting this seed. Efforts have been made from time to time to arouse interest on the part of members of Congress who have largo city constituencies and who might be able to encourage the school garden movement through Ow distribution of seed specially prepared for the plll'pOSt'. Many million packages of seed have been dis- tributed in this way in the larger cities, and some of these r-ases will be specificallv referred to in the accompanying report. In connection with the schools of tho District of Columbia oppor- tunities were afforded for putting into practice plans in reference to this work which haw' been under consideration for some time. Early in the work it was found that progress would necessarily be. slow, from the fad that till' public school teachers had never had any practical training in either horticulture or agriculture. To obviate this difficulty Ow actin' s-"Iupathy of thoso in charge of the normal school work in the District of Columbia was secured. oome ele- mcntary lectures were deli \'('1'('<1 by officers of the Bureau of Plant Industry to Ow students, and this led eventually t.o a broadening of the work. By direction of the Honorable Secretary, opportunities were afforded these students on till' grounds of the Department of Agriculture, A small gn'l'nhous(' was assiglH'd for the purpose, and under tho direction of )1iss Susan B. Sip(" who has chargc of the botanical work at XOl'IlJa1 Sohool Xo, 1, acti ve investigations were inaugurated. This work has been highly successful, as shown in the report prepurerl by )1iss Sipt'. This year tho Department furnished facilities for Normal School TO.2 (colored) of ",Yashington, D. C., to carryon the same general line of work inaugurated by )liss Sip«. This work was under the management of Miss Sara ",Y.Brown and has been very satisfactory. GARDEN WORK IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. prBLI(' H('UOOLS, "'ASIIIXGTOX. In the, pring of H)O~ the Bureau of Plant Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture received a request from Tormal 9 School No.1 of Washington, D. C., for assistance and cooperation in its efforts to introduce gardening into the course of the school. Suggestions as to methods of conducting the work, as well as the necessary seeds and plants, were sought. Flower and vegetable seeds were distributed, and Prof. L. C. Corbett, the Horticulturist of the Bureau, lectured to the students, five lectures being given on soils, germination, cuttings, grafting and budding, and the adornment of home grounds. As there is little ground connected with the school building (PI. II, fig. 1), it was necessary for the students to have home gardens in order to acquire the practica 1 in formation needed by teachers. To see that the instructions gi ven in the ]E'duros were carefully followed, these home gardens were visited by Miss Susan B. Sipe, the teacher of botany at the school, and the creditable O]]('S WE'rephotographed as an inspiration to future classes, (Set' PI. Y, fig. 1.) During the school vaca t ion of 100:2 Miss Sipe was allowed free use of the gardens and gn'ellhollsE's of the Department of Agriculture for practical work and study, and later when an offer of land, a small greenhouse, and a workroom was made to the school by the Chief of the Bureau of Plant Indusirv it was gladly accepted. In the autumn of H)O~, the students ha ving been requested to bring on a day designated whatever thoir ganh'ns produced at the time, a small but creditable exhibit was hold. This included plants raised from coleus and searlet-sage cuttings that had been rooted the pre- vious spring in boxes of sand in tho schoolroom windows, bunches of annual flowers, a few fresh vegetables, and several jars of preserved vegetables. The display showed that the effort made in the spring had not been wasted. An elementary course in gardening was made possible by the ac- quisition of the greenhouse, the workroom, and the land, and this course was added to the curriculum of the second year. Its value has become so well recognized by the board of education that in the estimates of appropriations submitted to Congn'ss for 1005 the sum of $50,0;:>8 was asked for the purchase of a site for a new normal school building, the following statement accompanying the request: Such a site should he Inrge enough not only to ur-eouimodate a normal school hul ldlng, lnc-ludlug eleuienturv prnc·tic·E'schools. but should turnlsh ground [or currytug on the work in school ~ard('nill).(. which has nlreudy hE'eomea part of the curriculum of this school and w liir-h is heiug developed under the personal care of the Chief of the Bureau of Plant l ndustrv und with the approval of the Secretary of Agrtr-ulture. It is ent irely fE'aRihlE'1I0t onl,\' for our normal school students to be trniued in the esseutials of school and horne gardenlng, hut to supply from propagatlng plats of ground-c-prepa red, planted, and cared for by pupils-much of the materta l needed for plant study ill the graded schools, to, gether with hundreds of cuttings and potted plants for schoolroom decoration. A site of the character desired need not be sought in the central portion of the 31097-No. 160-05 M--2 10 city, where prices are :;0 high a:; to prohlbit the ucqui rerueut of a large tract. but could be located to advantage ill one of our rapidly growing suburbs, where land is relatively cheap. The course prescribed in the school at the present time is sufficiently elementary to be easily adapted to the schools into which the gradu- ates are sent. No text-book is required, books being used simply for reference. Simple experiments are performed and conclusions drawn from the results. Soils brought from school grounds are treated with different fertilizers, seeds planted in them, and the results carefully noted. The water-holding power of soils, the conservation of water by soil mulching, the essentials for germination, and the proper depths for planting various seeds are learned through experiments. Before the frost touches geraniums, coleus, scarlet sage, and helio- trope in the park beds, cuttings are made and placed in clean sand to root, thus furnishing material for school-ground decoration later. These slips are potted and shifted into larger pots, as required, during the winter, so that by spring the gr('l'nhouse is filled with material for distribution. In the spring of InO-t-, +,000 plants were sent out from this house, which covers an area only Oby 3:2feet. (Sec PI. I, fig. 1.) Besides the herbaceous material men tionod, hard- wood, permanen L material is used. for cuttings. Eight-inch cuttings of pri vet and for- sythia arc kept during the winter under an open shed in flats filled with sand. In March these are sent to schools, with directions for planting. The grounds of three schools are now surrounded by thriv- ing hedges planted by children. The demnnd for these cuttings is greater than the school can supply .• t/llpelopsis rcitchl! and Clenmt!» paniculata have be n raised from seed and distributed to schools and to the homes of the students. Bulbs haw been planted in pots for winter forcing, Lists of plants suitable for withstanding the unfavorable conditions of schoolrooms have been prepared for the use of pupils. Much attention has been ziven to window-box gardening. The preparation of the soil. the suitability of plants, and their propt'l' urranzement haw been carefully studied. Special success in these window boxes has been obtained with Boston ferns. Tree seeds have been collected in the park: of the city in the autumn and kept in sand durinz the winter. In the spring the ground has been plowed by the students with a hand plow, the seeds being planted in accordance with the directions giv('n in Bulletin No. 29 of the Bureau of Forestry of the Department of .\griculture. (See PI. I, fig. 2.) "\'eding occasionally during the summer is all the work that has been required. The nursery now contains about -lOa young trees. U. S. Dept. of Agr., SuI. 160, Office of Expt. Stations. PLATE I. FIG. 1.-NoRMAL SCHOOL STUDENTS AT WORK IN A GREENHOUSE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. FIG. 2.-NoRMAL SCHOOL STUDENTS PLOWING FURROWS AND PLANTING TREE EEEDS SCHOOL GARDEN WORK AT WASHINGTON, D. C. U. S. Dept. of Agr., Sui 160, Office of Expt. Stations. PLATE II. FIG. 1.- THE GROUNDS OF THE FRANKLIN SCHOOL BEFORE IMPROVEMENT BY PUPILS OF THE SECOND, SEVENTH, AND EIGHTH GRADES. FIG. 2.-VACATION COMMITTEE AT WORK IN GARDEN OF SECOND-GRADE CHILDREN, FRANKLIN SCHOOL, FOUR MONTHS AFTER PLANTING. SCHOOL GARDEN WORK AT WASHINGTON, D. C. 11. The simple principles of landscape gardening are taught-popu- larly known as the ABC of gardening: (A) Keep open center; (B) plant in masses; and (C) avoid straight lines. These principles are thoroughly taught by the study of examples of good and bad planting in the city and by stereopticon slides. Each student, is required to draw to a scale and submit a scheme for plant- ing a specified school ground. The first year's plan, by which the student did the practical out- door work at home, was so satisfactory that no other method has been considered desirable. In many instances an entire neighborhood has been aroused to improve its back yards by the influence of a normal student. (See PI. V, fig. 1.) In the spring of 190:1, in order to make practical application of the principles taught in regard to landscape gardening, the grounds around the Franklin School building, in which the normal school is located, were improved. The best plan of those submitted by the class was followed. The north side of the grounds had been neglected for years; so much so that not a blade of grass grew on it. (Sec PI. II, fig. 1.) Two loads of manure were secured and spaded into it by the older boys with tools brought from home, and in one after- noon till' spading, raking, and seeding were accomplished. The part designed for planting was apportioned among the schools. Perma- nent shrubbery was obtained for the background of the garden, sufficient space being left for ouch child to plant a seed-purple flowering bean, morning-glory, and dwarf nasturtium being chosen. This plan has been followed successfully for two years. At the !wginning of vacation till' garden is so attractive that it is little trouble to form volunteer committees of children to report once a week throughout the summer to water and cut the grass and work the flower beds. (See PI. II, fig. :2.) The attendance has been large. Each student in the normal class comes once a week for three weeks to direct the work. The children do this work with no reward in view other than the beautifying of tho grounds. Civic pride is taught and respect for the property rights of others is learned. 'While stealing and vandal- ism were weeklv occnrreuccs the first sununer the gardens were in existence, not one case was reported during 190-.1:. The examph' set by the Frankl in School was followed by H:2 schools in 'Yashington i tl 100-.1:. Fail ures are reported in many cases, but thov have ('OI1W chieflv through lack of good soil and the indifferenee of janitors to tho care of the beds in summer. These failures, howevor, ha ve made the teachers more determined to be successful another year. The following extract from the report made to the superintendent of schools by Mr. Charles Thompson, principal of the Smallwood 12 School, shows what possibilities there are in this work for those who have nothing but barren land to begin on, but who are thor- oughly in earnest: Ground was broken Saturday, April 16. Invitation was given to the chil- dren to report at ]0 o'clock, bringing with them such implements as they happened to have at home. A great many came, bringing with them rakes, hoes, spades, coal shovels, in a more or Iess dilapidated condition, but they went to work with n will. A space 4 feet wide was dug at the rear and sides of the yard and both Rides of the partition fence, Difficulties beset this stage of the work. Tools were dull and broken. 'I'he ground was hard, hav- ing been tramped on by feet of children for the past sixteen years, The Roil was poor, Stones, bricks, old shoes, broken crockery, tin cans, cooking uteusl ls, trash, and dilbris of all kinds wore unearthed, A gentleman in the neighbor- hood, whose little boy iR in the fifth grade, furnished a horse and wagon to assist UR. The bOYKwent in the wagon to the power house and secured 2 large loads of rich soil that is removed by the railroad company from Its con- dults. 'I'Iiia, with a load of earth furnished by the District, was spread over the gardens after they had been tuoroughlv raked of trash. This latter the boys carted to a neighboring dump. ]·laC'hgrade was assigned a plat for culti- ration. The total area of the garden iR l,O-±-! square feet. Both flowers and vegetables were plauted. 'I'heso were obta ined from various sources, but C'hiefly the Department of Agtlculturc. The 1)Uj)ilstake great interest in their gardens, standlng over and admiring their own plants and comparing them with plants of other gardens. 'I'he teachers join me in considering this little experiment profitable not only to the pupils but to themselves. The work in the school yard has been correlated with the class- room work in nature study, reading, language lessons, composition, spelling, drawing, and paper cutting. Every child in the Franklin School planted a bulb in the garden in the autumn of 1904. The teacher of the second grade followed this planting by composition work and paper cutting of the tools used. The seventh and eighth grade teachers gave the following problems on planting day: (1) The Department of .\j:(riC'ulture. in l!)O:), ordered 171.UOO bulbs f'roin J lol luud : ]4:),200 of these were dlstributed. '1'hiR is what rractlonal part of the order? (:!) Llyuclnth bulbs sell for 7:) ('C'lItSper dozen at the Center ~Iarket. The Frunkf in fkhool bought them at S:{ per hundred wholesale. What per «eut was saved by so doing'! (:n 'I'he normal SdlOOI has tulips for sale at 7:) cents IW1'hundred. crocuses at :!O «ents, and hyac-inths at ~:;. Whut w ill your order or ,*0 crocuses aud a dozen each of hyaclnthx and tulips cost? Plantain and dandelions han been troublesome weeds in the lawns, The older children measured the area and calculated how many flower heads, if allowed to seed, a plant must bear to take en- tire possession of the lawn, This, of course, has been done with the supposition that every seed grows and has a given space. This is practical, in that it teaches the necessity of preventing the ripening of the seeds of weeds. 13 Last spring 66,000 penny packages of seed were sold to the chil- dren of \Vashington for home planting. A list of easily grown, fall-blooming flowers, vines, and three kinds of vegetables was sub- mitted to the children. Limitations were put llpon their selection. Nasturtium seed only was thought desirable for the first and second grades. The third grade was encouraged to plant nastnr- tiums, radishes, and morning-glories. Above this grade the fnll list was presented: Zinnias, marigolds, petunias, lettuce, beans, bal- loon vine, morning-glory, and purple flowering bean, together with the seeds sown by the first, second, and thin] grades. No child in any grade was allowed to spend more than a cents. Teachers gavl' lessons in the schoolroom on the manner of plar-ting and the care of the garden in summer. An inventory of stock was taken when school opened, and, while there were thousands of mishaps, it seemed advisable to have the children bring to school on a day designated whatever their gardens produced. .\. half dozen remarkable flower shows resulted. These have aroused great enthusiasm for another year. At these exhibits, besides the flowers and vegetables raised by the children, the teachers have added an extra feature by exhibiting plants suitable for school- room culture. At one of the colored schools all of the plants used by the teachers of the building to decorate their rooms were brought together in the principal's rOOI11,where by comparison one could learn much. One of the most interesting features at all the exhibits was the seed collections. Those who had no flower's brought seeds that they had gathered from their gardens. Every city that has done school garden work has studied its own needs in that direction and has followed the subject in the way that will be most beneficial. The point of view from which \Yashington approached the work has been that of arousing civic pride by giving better school surroundings, and by the improvement of back yards, all of this to be accomplished through its teachers, who should there- fore have special training for this work. Philadelphia, Boston, New York, and St. Louis, with their large foreign quarters, have felt the need of a work that will turn the chil- dren toward the country; so in those places the subject has been worked out on large areas, subdivided into many small plats, when' children are taught the value of intensive farming on small tracts. But one experiment of the kind has been tried in connection with tho schools in \Vashington, and this work has another purpost' for its foundation than those mentioned, thollgh it may be many y('ars before its object is accomplished. The girls of the public schools in Wash- ington have manual training in the form of sewing or cooking from the third grade to the high school; the boys are overlooked until they 14 are taught carpentry in the seventh grade. To test the value of gar- dening as a suitable form of manual training for boys below the sev- enth grade, a sixth-grade class of boys was selected to work the land assigned the normal school on the grounds of the Department of Agri- culture. The work began March 1, 1904. Once a week, while the girls were at the cutting and fitting school, the boys reported at the normal workroom. The same plan of objective and experimental work was followed with them as with the normal students, Study of soils, fer- Iilizers, seed sowing, and mulching was made before the outdoor work began. Each boy was assigned a plat 10 by 17 feet, paths :2 feet wide separating the plats. (See PI. III, fig. 1) The measuring was done by the boys and was the most difficult part of the work. The teacher who does this work for the first time must guard against too close planting. She-tor in nine cases out of ten it is a woman-will be misled by the term "intensive farming," lind will plant so closely that by midsummer it is impossible to work between the rows. Except for radishes it is not advisable to haw' less than a foot between rows. A foot and a half is more desirable. Upon the control a teacher has over her class in the first planting lessons de- pends the appearance of the garden later. There is no better object lesson to a lazy or careless boy than the little plants appearing above ground. Such boys at this time will sometimes hoe up their entire plats and replant them, because of the great difference apparent be- tween their gardens and those of tho mort' careful pupils. All things a re not sui table for such small plats. Among vegetables radishes, lettuce, onions, bush beans, and tomatoes, if trained to stakes, are tho most satisfactory to children; petunias, nasturtiums, sweet alyssum, and verbenas flower all summer, so a bunch of flowers may be taken horne at e\'('ry lesson. By putting in a crop as soon as one ha: been exhausted. on a six- toonth of an acre these sixth-grade boys raised Han bunches of ra d- ishes, 110 bunches of onions, HnR heads of lettuce, 8D 1)[1I1ch('sof beets, R bushels of beans, 7 bushels of tomatoes, 7 bunches of carrots, and 1 peck of turnips, besides nast urt i ums and petunias, Illany boxes of which found their way to the hospitals of the «ity. (SC'(' PI. IIT, fig. 2.) At regular market prices $.'):"> wort h of produce has been gathered from this small plat. Experienced farmers sometimes fa il to (10 as well. The importance of thorough cultivation of the soil has been impressed npon the boys. Except for rains, no water is put upon the gardens. The soil is thoroughly worked once a week ; the drier Ih(' weather the deeper the cultivation. Tho cl imute of "rashing-ton permits work npon the gardens Into in the fall. Tn September, however, the boys are promoted to the seventh grade, when' another U. S. Dept. of Agr., Bul. , 60, Office of Expt. Stations. PLATE III. FIG. 1.-GARDEN PLATS LAID OUT BY SIXTH-GRADE BOYS IN THE GROUNDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. FIG. 2.- THE GARDEN PLATS SHOWN IN FIGURE 1, SIX WEEKS AFTER PLANTING, SCHOOL GARDEN WORK AT WASHINGTON, D. C. 15 form of manual work is taught, so the garden work closes on Octo- her 1. There is no question in the minds of those in charge of the value of the work. Proof was gi ven the first season of the influence on the homes of the boys. ·With little expenditure for tools, fertilizers, and seeds, and in some cases renting land near schools, such oppor- tunities could be given to every sixth-grade boy in the city. That gardening has taken a permanent place in the schools of ·Washington was made very evident at a recent meeting of principals, both white and colored, called by the superintendent of schools, Mr. A. T. Stuart. Reports of successful work were read, and the superintendent expressed his desire that every school should plan work for the present year. 'Vherever there is sufficient ground, each grade represented in a building will be assigned a portion. This will be done not only to improve surroundings, but to furnish material Tor nature study. Planting vines to cover unsightly places has been strongly recommended. The enlarged greenhouse facilities given this year to the normal school by the Bureau of Plant Industry will permit of the intro- duction of gardening into its first year's course, thus making a larger distribution of plants possible. Great care is exercised in the selec- tion of tho plants propagated, as it is desirable to make them serve the two purposes of decoration and material for lessons. NORMAL i!!ClIOOL No.2. The following report regarding school garden work in connection with the normal school for colored pupils has been furnished by Miss Sara ,Yo Brown, the teacher in charge. The first successful attempt at school gardening in Normal School No.2 was made in H>O-1. In the spring of 1903 the idea of beautify- ing the school grounds was seized with enthusiasm. The boys of the senior class designed and dng beds, and the class contributed to the purchase of plants. Poor soil, late planting, ignorance of the prin- ciples underlying plant culture, and inexperience combined to defeat the purpose. Some successful attempts at home gardens, however, were reported in the autumn. The teacher of nature study, recognizing some of the causes of failure, began tho garden work in the fall of 1903 by digging up the plats and dressing the soil with street sweepings. The class-room work at this time included a study of tho nature and formation of soils, bulletins from the Department of Agriculture and nature-study leaflets from Hampton Institute and Cornell University being used as guides for the pupils in preparing experiments and giving lessons on these subjects. 16 After the Christmas vacation, lessons on seeds were given in 1905 for the first time, with the aim to grow plants which should be used in school and home gardens. The teacher supplemented her own efforts to acquire knowledge and experience in actual propagation of plants from seeds by assigning to each one of the 40 students one plant-a flower or a vegetable-which he should study exhaustively from seed to fruit, emphasizing all the facts relating to planting and cultivation. This information was sought at home, at the grounds of the Department of Agriculture, at the National Botanic Garden, in florists' catalogues, and in libraries. Several hundred seedlings, grown in boxes as a result of these efforts, supplied plants for school and home gardens. Some plants were furnished from the greenhouse of Normal School No. 1. In Sep- tember the school received special mention by the superintendent for its beautiful appearance. In November, 1904:, Mr. Brooks, of the Department of Agriculture, came to the school and directed the pupils while they prepared and planted a bulb garden. Later, Prof. Charles F. 'Vheeler, a specialist in the Department of ~~gricultL1re,gave a practical lecture on soils and the propagation of plants, which caused the pupils to anticipate with delight the promised greenhouse. The first week of December, 190-:1:, the pupils of Normal School No.2 were given the use of a greenhouse, completely fitted for prop- agating plants, located upon the grounds of the Department of Agri- culture. The work was inaugurated by the Chief of the Bureau of Plant Industry with an informal lecture on the importance of agri- cultural pursuits to the nation as well as to the individual, and on the necessity for scientific knowledge of farming. Lessons in making cuttings and in potting and shifting plants were given, and green- house ideals of methods in work and arrangement of cuttings and pots were presented. The work from day to clay proved that the pupils realized its importance. The spirit of industry and enthusiasm developed into a real love of greenhouse work. The students aimed to acquire accurate green- house methods, and in addition to the thorough and patient instruc- tion given by the gardeners assigned for the work many visits were made to the various propagating houses on the grounds. The work began with seeds-recognit.ion and description of the kinds used, followed by seed planting in "flats." Next came lessons in making cuttings, all of this material being supplied from the prop- agating gardens, the students having started too late to get cuttings from out of doors. The effort to make a " clean cut," and later to put the cuttings in straight rows, was rewarded and called forth praise for orderly hothouse work. 17 In the palm house the methods of propagating and canng for palms, rubber plants, crotons, and ferns were learned. Certain insect activities directed attention to the once favorite topic of entomology, and Comstock's manual for the study of insects became a mnch sought book. The preparation and use of insecticides were then introduced into the course. The lessons in grafting, accompanied by the usual number of cut fingers, came at the end of the course, and many young apple trees- some growing in the school yard and some at the homes of pupils- attest the success attained. The pupils of the senior class in the normal school attended the hothouse in two sections, each twice a week, working an entire after- noon and always long after school hours. In the spring term the older pupils prepared simple experiments and lessons on soils to introduce the younger class to the work. The junior class took up the work as eagerly as had the seniors. In order that the instruction given by the Department of Agricul- ture should be of benefit to many, the superintendent of schools ar- ranged that the normal teacher in charge of greenhouse work should meet the principals of all the schools of the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth divisions. The space at the greenhouse could accom- modate only one division at a time, so in four successive meetings with the principals, accompanied by the assistant superintendent of schools and the supervising principal, the work done by pupils was displayed and explained and a lively exchange of questions and ·ex- periences took place. The teachers had already developed school gardens and knew definitely what they needed, and all profited by the experiences of the others. The aim of the teacher of school gardening was mainly to demonstrate the principles underlying plant growth: The necessity for tilling the soil; proper preparation of soil; need of modifying certain soils, and the relation of moisture to soil. To understand the reasons for using the spade and the hoe endows those tools with superior merits. These several meetings were at once most inspiring and prophetic. Fifty principals, appreciating the educational and economic value of primary agriculture, reacting on the teachers in 50 buildings and «ach teacher in turn influencing 50 children, surely enlarges the sphere of influence of a little greenhouse hidden in the grounds of the Department of Agriculture. Bulletins on " The Propagation of Plants," " The School Garden." "Annual Flowering Plants," and" Beautifying the Home Grounds" were put into the hands of each principal attending the meetings. The principals and teachers in the colored schools have sought the normal school and its pupils constantly for information on school 310fl7-'--'i\'o. HlO-O:l ~1--3 18 gardens, and in many cases pupils have given personal assistance and direction in improving the school grounds of the city. The pupils of the normal school, as their turn came to teach, instructed the children of the first, second, and third grades, each child planting a plat in the school garden, while many planted home gardens, which were visited by pupil teachers. With one exception every girl and boy has planted a home garden. Some of the girls grew plants at home and distributed seeds to the children of the neighborhood for their gardens. One girl has a garden 80 by 100 feet in size, in the preparation of which she was assisted by her brother, and she has already gathered pecks of peas and beans and some potatoes. The largest available space for a school garden in the grounds of the normal school is an area 11 by 26 feet. In this, three rectangular beds were made, one for a model vegetable garden, containing plants which would serve for the fall table, and two flower beds, one consist- ing entirely of composites. Clematis, climbing roses, English ivy, and the trumpet creeper: as well as moon vines and other annuals, were planted along fences and wood sheds. The planting of 250 forsythias along the walks to the buildings will be of permanent value. These plants were made by the girls from cuttings from shrubs in the grounds of the Department of Agriculture. In all there are about 2,500 plants in the school gardens at present, about half of them grown from seeds, the others from cuttings propa- gated in the greenhouse. Sweet peas are so great a favorite that the teacher yielded to en- treaties to plant them. While their cultivation has been attended with great success, the period for blossoming comes after, chool has closed for the summer vacation. The terraces about the normal school building were repaired and grass seed sown in the bare places. In summarizing the visible results of the first year's work at the grounds of the Department of Agriculture it Jl1ay be said that the pupils produced from seeds and cuttings fully 8,000 plants. To make room for other plants, large numbers were used in planting window boxes and hanging baskets, which were removed to the normal school and the M Street High School. In ,Tune, 1905, there were in the greenhouse about 300 choice roses, 300 forsythia plants, 150 begonias, 25 rubber plants, 150 choice chrys- anthemums, several crotons propagated from cuttings, and hundreds of coleus, ivy, salvia, and heliotrope plants. About 4,000 plants were distributed to the schools of the city. The members of the junior class were given young potted plants- 19 begonias, chrysanthemums, roses, and geraniums-to care for during the summer, with a view to their use in the rooms of the normal school next year. Every colored school in the District of Columbia, with one excep- tion, now has a garden, and in the particular case referred to the building has no grounds connected with it. GARDEN WORK IN SOME OTHER CITIES. a Miss Sipe's interest and experience in school-garden work led us last year to lay before the Secretary the plan of having her visit some of the more important cities for the purpose of studying the move- ment in those places, with a view to securing data which might be of value to others interested in the subject. This report is mainly the result of Miss Sipe's studies and investigations. The material has been largely prepared by her and the photographs from which the illustrations are made were secured in connection with her visits to the various places where school gardens are conducted. SCHOOL OF HORTICULTl'RE, HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT. In 1893 the Rev. Francis Goodwin, one of Hartford's public bene- factors, bought land and established the Handicrafts School of that city. ~\. board of trustees, of which Mr. Goodwin is now a member and for many years was both president and treasurer, controls the institution. Its privileges are offered to the pupils of the ,Yatkinsoll Farm School for homeless boys. Later the School of Horticulture was established and its courses were opened to the Farm School, with the hope of turning the boys toward the country, as it was evident they were drifting toward the stores of the city as soon as they left the institution. The school offers to children and to teachers a practical course in horticulture and agriculture. Mr. H. D. Hemenway, a graduate of the Massachusetts Agricultural College and the author of " School Gardens," a work which has made him an authority upon that sub- ject, is the director of the school. Two hours daily are given to the course, One-half of the time is spent in the class room, the remainder being devoted to the practical work of the potting room, greenhouse, or garden. The students are given lessons in mixing soils, sowing seeds, pot- ting and shifting plants, transplanting, making hotbeds, repairing and painting sash, mixing and applying fungicides and insecticides, and budding and grafting. The work begins in February indoors. a RC'l' also .\nnunl Report of tile Office of Experiment Rtations for 1903, pp. 573-584. 20 In Mayall of the classes are assigned land for the study of the sub- ject by actually doing the work. The plat of the first-year student is 10 by 30 feet; of the second, 10 by 40 feet; of the third, 10 by GO feet, and of the fourth, 10 by 80 feet. The director decides the planting for the first and second years, but allows more freedom in the third and fourth years and to teachers ta king advanced work. The first year the instruction and the use of the land were free, but later the number of free gardens was lim- ited and a small tuition fee was charged. This fee need not keep a boy from having a garden, as a hundred hours' work tor the school entitles him to a free garden for the season. The enrollment for 100:1:included 121 boys from the city, 21 boys from the ,Yatkinson Farm School, and 22 teachers. K 0 unnecessary display is made in laying out the gardens. Con- venience for work is the chief aim, so that one is impressed with their simplicity and at the same time with the great opportunities offered. Paths 3 feet wide separate the individual gardens, and paths 5 feet wide the rows of gardens. Each boy is provided with a numbered set of tools-a hoe, a rake, a weeder, and a line the length of the perimeter of the garden. The hoe handles are marked for measur- ing distances between rows. The commonest farm crops are culti- vated in rows from a foot to 2~ feet apart, according to the kind. To give a general knowledge of other crops, observation plats of grains, fiber plants, and of medicinal and other pot herbs are located on the main path. Thus an observant student has opportunity to become familiar with many kinds of plants. The children are given lessons on these plats, not only on their culture but on their value to man in products and by-products. ~\.t the fall exhibition the cotton, hemp, ramie, and flax fibers are shown in different stages of manufacture. Economy in seed planting is taught. Much carelessness among untrained teachers has been noted in this regard. As nearly as possible the correct quantity for planting a row at given distances apart is given. Land was rented in the neighborhood of the 'Washington Street School, where the pupils of the sixth grade had individual gardens. These were cultivated during the summer by the children, under the direction of a student from the chool of Horticulture. The School of Horticulture has been aptly called a "classic" in school garden work. Few teacher. have such opportunities as those of Hartford to prepare themselves for this educational movement. (. ee Pl. IV, fig. 1.) Xnturallv, the influence of the school is felt in the public school of Hartford. U. S. Dept. of Agr., Bul. 160. Office of Expt. Stations. PLATE IV. FIG. 1.-TEACHERS' CLASS AT THE SCHOOL OF HORTICULTURE, CONDUCTED ON SATURDAY MORNINGS. FIG 2.-KINDERGARTEN CLASSES AT THE WADSWORTH SCHOOL, SHOWING GARDEN CONTAINING 288 PLATS. SCHOOL GARDEN WORK AT HARTFORD, CONN. 21 lU~DERGARTEN GARDENS, HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT. The supervisor of kindergartens of the south district schools, Miss M. C. Laidlaw, has accomplished gratifying results in the yard adjoining the Wadsworth School. It was originally a common, and was used as a short cut between streets. In the spring it was worked off into 288 plats, each 3 by 5 feet. (See PI. IV. fig. 2.) Rough preparation was made by hired labor, the little kindergarten work- ers doing the rest. Two children worked on a plat, planting two kinds of flowers and two vegetables, one that matured above ground and one below. Throughout the summer Miss Laidlaw met the children to give them an opportunity to gather their flowers or vegetables and to pull weeds. Their interest was intense, and so likewise was that of the neighborhood. These little ones became familiar with the names of the commonest plants and took great pride in teaching older ones who came with them. It was necessary to pile the debris in one corner of the garden. In this the children hid morning-glory, sunflower, and squash seeds, resulting later in a very attractive mound of green, and serving as a valuable object lesson in covering unsightly places. PUBLIC SCHOOLS, BOSTON, :MASSACIIUSETTS. To Boston belongs the honor of establishing, in 1891. the first school garden, at the George Putnam Grammar School. It was a garden of ferns and wild flowers, and one that supplied the school with science material. To quote Mr. Henry Lincoln Clapp, the mas- ter of the school: Reasons that are good for introducing elements of science into elementary schools are equally good for supplying adequate and seasonable elementary science material to work upon. For many years the Massachusetts Horticultural Society offered a yearly premium for the best school garden and the best use made of it. The George Putnam School won the prize every year, $5 of the amount received buying soil for enriching the land and $10 paying the janitor for summer care. In 1900, individual plats for growing flowers and vegetable. were first cultivated. The Boston Normal School in 1901 established the second garden of the kind. Eighty children of the seventh grade had beds 4 by 10 feet. the gardens being located in a crowded part of the city and every effort being made to interest the parents. Vege- tables were taken home and parents were invited to visit the gardens. As a result, many home gardens were started. At the present time an 22 elective course in simple agriculture, including practical work in lay- ing out school gardens and teaching gardening to children, is offered to the normal students. Until the year 1904 the greater part of the expense of this work was borne by the Twentieth Century Club, though the school authorities made a yearly appropriation toward it. By the method pursued in 190-l the schools in which this work was conducted were enrolled as vacation schools, the children returning daily to look after their plats. Five teachers (normal graduates) at $50 a month each were appointed in the vacation schools to take charge of the gardening. The general enrollment of the vacation schools was so great, how- ever, that it was necessary to use these teachers for other subjects, so the work planned for garden classes was not always accomplished. The supervisor of the work, Miss A. L. Withington, who is not em- ployed by the school officials but represents the garden committee, a consolidation of a number of clubs interested in civic improvement, is an enthusiastic believer in the influence of this work upon the future generation, particularly in relieving the congested population of cities by showing children the possibilities in the country. Boston is endeavoring to solve the difficulty that all cities will have to meet-that of finding land to carryon this work. At the Lyman School the bricks were removed for a space of 5 feet around the entire yard and good loam was put in. The space at the front of the build- ing was planted with shrubbery for permanent decoration. The seventh grade was gi ven the border at the rear and sides of the yard, each child cultivating a small plat. The remaining portion of the border was planted in grains and vegetables, each product being dis- tinctly labeled. One interesting method of planting under limited conditions was seen at the Martin School. The classes planted tulip bulbs in the circular places left around the trees after the yard wa paved. This is a suggestion many schools could follow. The manner in which land was obtained for the Hancock School is suggestive. The claim is made that this school is located in one of the most densely populated portions of the globe. The popula- tion is strictly foreign. No land but a playground paved with bricks is connected with the school. The schoolhouse commission bought an old tenement at the rear of the school, tore it down, removed the debris, and turned the ground over to the garden committee. By herculean effort it was put into condition for planting. In connection with the playground on Columbus avenue, the Massa- chusetts Civic League conducts 235 well-planned gardens, each approximately 4 by 7 feet, which border the playground, adding much to its attractiveness. The children are allowed ome choice in 23 planting. They may plant either vegetables or flowers, but not both. After deciding which is preferred each child is given a list from which he may select two plants, and in addition every child plants scarlet runner at the rear of his plat to covel' the wire netting that separates the playground from the garden. The work begins in May. .The children come once a week from the Hyde School near by, this being considered a part of their regu- lar school work. The teacher, seeing its educational value, supple- ments the work of the garden teacher by class-room work. The atti- tude of the regular teacher toward the garden is reflected by the manner that the class does its work in the gardens. If she favors it, the classes are enthusiastic; if she sends her classes with the spirit that she is simply complying with the rules, indifferent work is the result. Two-thirds of the children who begin the work continue it to the end. The expense of teaching-$60 a month-is borne by the league. The long hours, 9 a. m. to 6.30 p. m., are necessary, as the play- grounds are well attended. Trespassing is rare, which is remarkable when the vast numbers of children who daily visit the place are considered. PUBLIC SCHOOLS, BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS. The Education Society of Brookline, Mass., exists to enrich school work; to suggest, and in many cases to test without expense to the citizens, some measure of popular education, and to bring to all people of its community higher ideals of education. One of its recent acts in developing its purposes was to establish three school gardens, its one object in doing so being to demonstrate the practical value of such gardens. In working out its plans it has been supported by the strong hope that the school board, in case the demonstrations were made, would either continue the experiment, or, following many other communities, adopt the garden as an approved adjunct to public schools generally. In selecting schools to be given gardens and the grades to receive instruction, in placing the gardens and in fencing them, and in the appointment and supervision of instructors, the society has tried to suit the undertaking to actual and probably permanent conditions. The results of the experiment are for this reason particularly grati- fying. They show that the school garden is not only feasible under the least favorable conditions, but also rich in uses that commend its adoption. The gardens were conducted on vacant lots adjoining or near the schools on the individual plat method, and were worked by pupils 24 of the seventh and eighth grades in one school and by the primary grades in the others. The "Winthrop School garden was in one corner of the public playground adjoining the school. Grass had been removed simply from the small plats, 3 by 3 feet, that the second and third grade children were to cultivate, thus leaving the turf for paths and making a very attractive garden. The main planting was generally uniform-sweet alyssum, portulaca, eschscholtzia, and centaurea. A capable teacher was employed by the society at $60 per month. The nature-study period was employed for the work during the school session, the regular teachers making the connection in the schoolroom with language lessons, drawing, and painting. Two- thirds of the children who began the work carried it through to completion during vacation. The gardens cultivated by the seventh and eighth grade pupils were larger than the others, and vegetables formed the greater part of the products. The public school grounds of Brookline are among the most attract- ive in this country. STATE NORUAL SCHOOL, HYANNIS, MASSACHUSETTS. The principal of the State Normal School at Hyannis. Mass., has made a thorough study of the correlation of class-room work and outdoor work. Gardening is made especially prominent in the second and in the eighth grades. The second-grade children measure the ground, mark off their plats, and stretch the lines for rows. As they know but little of flowers, they can not decide for themselves what to plant. To avoid leaving it wholly to the choice of the teacher, a diagram of the gar- den is put upon the blackboard, showing the proposed location of all flowers, grouped according to color. The children are t hen per- mitted to say whether they prefer to work with red, yellow, white, or blue flowers, In this way an effective garden is produced and yet one in which there is some freedom of choice for the children. Language, reading, and composition lessons are based upon the daily work in the garden, including animal and in ect work, as well as plant life. Celia Thaxter's" Peggy's Garden and "What Grew Therein" furnishes material for garden stories and short reading lessons. The children plant many of the same flowers and at the same time have many of Peggy's experiences in their gardens so near the. eacoast. The teacher of this grade, Iis C. N. "Wheeler, makes u. e of every opportunity to teach respect for order and neatness. The correlation in the eighth is even greater than in the second grade. The students form themselves into a corporation, assuming 25 the responsibility of debts. With money raised by entertainments during the winter a bank account is opened. The student corpora- tion hires a man to plow the land and buys seeds and fertilizers. Copies of letters written to seedsmen relative to catalogues and the purchase of seeds, and copies of bills sent in and receipts given are entered in the students' diaries. As all bills are paid by checks, the students become familiar with banking methods. Crops are sold by the corporation, affording an opportunity to teach bookkeeping. A summer normal course for teachers, with the necessary practice schools, solves the question of summer care and at the same time gives Massachusetts teachers the opportunity to study the relation between schoolroom and garden as interpreted by this school. The accompanying table, prepared by Mr. Baldwin, will be a val- uable aid to teachers in this regard. Table showing the correlation of class-room and garden - Garden work. Language. Reading. Spelling. Outdoors. Indoors. Oral. Written. 1. Soils: 1. Soils: Review work A diary. New words Position of Physical prop- done in the when used. soils. erties. garden pre- Formation. paratory to Moisture rela- writing in tion. the diary. Fertility. Characteristics of good gar- den soil. 2. Preparation of 3. Lessons on the Oral lessons Do. the ground: preparation in garden- Fertiliza- in~ as indi- tion. a~fF~~·Ul~~~~~. ca edunder ~IGarden Plowing. Kinds of fer- Harrowin~. tilizers. work-In- Rakingtoo s Time to ferti- doors." lize. How to ferti- lize. b. Theplow,the harrow; their uses. 4. Selection of Do. Letters writ- Do. seeds: ten for cat- Kinds to he alogues . .Jllanted. hat are good seeds? Seed c a t a- logues. 5. Plan of the gar- Selections Do. Do. den: from"My Division of Summer labor. in a Gar- Rotation of den," hy crops. Charles Dudley Warner. 6. Ordering the Do. Letters writ- Do. seed: ten order- Seed dealers. ingseeds. Amount of seed. 7. Layiif.; out the Do. Do. gar en: Stakes. String. Use of the chain. Themeasur- ing stick. - 8. Planting the 9. Review of plan t- Do. Do. seed: ing the various (1) Peas. seeds. (2) Radish seed. (3) Lettuce seed. (4) Beans. (5) Corn. (6) Potatoes, etc. 27 studies, State Normal School, Hyannis, Mass. --- Arithmetic and Animals. Plants. Drawing. Man~al train- , GeoraPhy bookkeeping. mg. and istory. Diagram of a Boxes, if nee- section of a essary, to hill showing hold soils. soils in pOSI- tion. Calculate the- The study of Sketch of a Amount of varIOUS ani- plow. fertilizer. malsasthey Diagram of a Thickness are found: harrow. of ferti- Earth- lizer. worm. Bookkeeping: Toad. Cash a c - June bee- count. tIe. Price of Ladybug. fertilizer. Chipping Price of 8~arrow. plowing. Ro in. Crow. Goldfinch. Purple finch,etc - Find the area Plan of the of the garden whole gar- and of each den drawn plat in feet, to scale. acres, etc. Plan of indi- vidual plats drawn to scale. Calculate the amount of seed to order. I Bill of seedsfor bookkeeping. Makingstakes from laths. Making meas- uring sticks. --' - -- Indicate on in- Makinf,labels dividual plats for£ anting where seeds see s. are planted. 28 Table showing the correlation of class-room and garden Garden work. Language. Reading. -- Spelling. I Outdoors. Indoors. Oral. Written. I ---- 10. Germination Selections Oral lessons Written de- New words I of seeds. in garden- scriptions whenused. irsoF~'~~ ing as indi- traclllfthe Garden," cated under d eve op- HGarden mentfrom ~hax1:~~.a work-In- seed to doors." you n g plant. 11. Study of the 12. Conditions for Do. Continued Do. r;oun~ seed- growth. descrip- inN,sllltheir See under tionsshow- be s: Plants. ing the How fast the fJrowth of seedlings he plant. grow. AnK marked c anges in theirgrowth. 13. Care of young 14. Reviews of the seedlin~s in the gar en: best ways of transplan t- Do. Do. I Hoein~. ing: Thinnm~. Weeding. T~'ansp ant- Use of insecti- mg. cides. Weeding. Use of insecti- cides. Watering. 15. Care of the 16. Growth of Selections Do. Some de- Do. garden dur- plants: fro m scriptions mgthesum- Leaves. other of flowers. mer: Flowers. ~arden Cultivating- ooks. Hoeing. Weeding. Watering. PlantinN the secon crop. I 29 studies, State Normal School, Hyannis, Mass.-Continued. -- Arithmetic and Manual train- Geo~raphY Animals. Plants. Drawing. bookkeeping. ing. and istory. --- 1U. Study of A series of the ger- wat.e r-col or mination sketches of seeds: showing the (1) D r y seed. (2) Soaked ~l~~~tE::'':~J to the young Reed. plant. (3) Sgrout- e seed. (4) Young seed- ling in the beds. (5) Several large Excursions to seed- other gar- lings. dens. (6) Young plant. ]2. Con d i- tions for growth: Moisture. Warmth. Food. Light. Air. 14. The vart- Making a Foreign gar- ous in- dibble for dens: sects or transplant- English pests of mg. gardens. the gar- Italian den: gardens. Cutworm. Japanese Potato gardens, bug. etc. Squash bug. Tent cat- erpillar. ----- 16. Study of 16. Water-color flowers: sketches Manner of of flow- growth. ers. Color. Form. Fertiliza- tion. Use. 30 Table showing the correlation of class-room and garden Garden work. Language. I Reading. Spelling. Outdoors. Indoors. Oral. I Written. 1---- - Ii. Gathering 18. Study of- Oral lessons Descriptions New words crops: Fruits. in garden- of fruits. whenused. Picking fruit, Roots. ing as indi- peas, beans, cated under :;j\uash,etc. uGarden Pul in~lants, work - In- radish, let- doors." tuce, etc. Digging pota- toes, tur- nips. 19. Selling crops: Do. Do. Pr e pa.ra t i on for market- Shaking oft' dirt. Cutting tops. Bunching. Packing. Taking home or to the market. 20. Collecting 21. Preparing seed Do. Do. seed: for winter: Picking ripe Opening fruit. fruit. Taking out Drying when seed. necessary. Washing seed. Labeling seed. - 22. Clearing the Do. Do. garden for winter: Pulling old plants. Raking into piles. Burningbrush and rubbish. 31 studies, State Normal School, Hyannis, .Mass.-Continued. Arithmetic and Animals. Plants. Drawing. Manual train- Geography bookkeeping. ing. and history. Vegeta bles 18. Study of- 18.Water-color Basket mak- 18. Ge0r,raph- gathered iu Growth of sketches ing, iea study each garden. plants. of fruit. of a few Growth of of the flowers. plants, Fruit: as corn, Manner of pea s , . growth. wheat, Color. etc.: ShaKe. Corn- See dis- History. persal. Cu I ti v a- tion. Growth. Price of crops: Make envel- Varieties. Amount opes for Harvest- received seeds, if ing. for crops. necessary. Distribu- Bankbook. tion, Depos- Uses,food i ti n g pro d- money. ucts. Drawing Indus- money. tries. Exporta- tions. --- -- 32 PUBLIC SCHOOLS, WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS. The school authorities of Worcester lend no assistance toward the school garden work. At the officeof the superintendent of schools it was learned that $25 had been appropriated for hauling to school buildings soil that teachers might procure either by purchase or by gift. However, much has been done through some of the more progress- ive teachers, assisted by a public-spirited citizen, Mr. ,Valter D. Ross, who has offered for the past two years to furnish seeds and fertilizers to all schools desiring them. Twenty-seven schools availed of this offer in the summer of 1904:. One of the most progressive schools is the Upsala Street School, Miss Mary C. Henry, principal, in which much of the practical work in Dr. C. F. Hodge's" Nature Study and Life" was demonstrated. A wild garden on one side of the building, a small vegetable garden on the other side, and a creditable lawn in front, bordered by luxu- riantly blooming nasturtiums, make this building one of the most pleasing results of the efforts of children. A school yard planted by a gardener is good if the work can be done in no other way. but the one that best serves its educational value is planted by children, no matter how small the ground or how crude the result. It is in such a garden that moral teaching is accomplished. The work is done in 'Yorcester. as in many other places, in the nature-study period. The outdoor work is preceded by simple infor- mal lessons in the class room. The children bring tools from home. It has been necessary for the teacher to buy soil every two or three years. as the steep grade of the yard causes the ground to be deeply washed. To most of the children this work is an incentive for home gardens. and the improvement of the surrounding neighborhood tes- tifies to the value of the work at the school. The ,Yorcester Agricultural Society took up the matter of school gardens and at the annual fair of 1904: offered the following pre- miums for garden products grown by pupils of the public schools. (1) Best collection from pupil;; of anyone town: Prizes, $10, $9, $8, $7, $6, $5, $4. (2) Best collection from pupils of anyone school: Prizes, $7, $6, $5, $4, $3, $2, si. (3) Best collection from pupils of anyone schoolroom: Prizes, $5, $4, $3, $2, si. (4) Best collection from any schoolboy or schoolgirl: Prizes, $3, $2.GO, $:l, $1.50, $l. In addition, prizes were offered for the best flower displayed by children and the best di play, six specimens each, of corn, radishes, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, and beets. 33 PUBLIC SCHOOLS, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI. The school grounds of the newer buildings of St. Louis are partic- ularly attractive. Special mention should be made of the McKinley High School, and of the Emerson, the Monroe, and the 'Vyman schools. There has been ample provision made for playgrounds and for decorative approaches to the buildings. Some of the planting at the Monroe School was done by the children and some by an expert gardener, financial aid coming from an association of parents and interested persons, known as the Patrons' Association. The janitor at the 'Vyman School has that inborn love of flowers that makes their care a recreation. To him belongs the credit of the magnificent lawn, stretching in three terraces from the building to the sidewalk, the flower borders and beds, and the nature-study garden in the rear of the building. This contains plats of the com- monest grains and many kinds of \'egeLables suitable for lessons in the schoolroom. The teachers found waiting for them on their return in September sheaves of wheat, rye, and oats, cornstalks, and such vegetables as had not matured in the summer. The school board assisted the movement throughout the city in 1904, and extra men were employed to mow the lawns on large grounds, while in some cases plants were provided. In the spring of 1904 gardens of individual plats, or grade gardens, were started by a number of schools on adjoining or near-by vacant lots. None of these, however, was cared for during the summer. In 1903 seeds were sold to the school children at :2 cents a package. This was accomplished by the Engelmann Botanical Club. The results were very gratifying and the prospect for 1!l0-!was encourag- ing, when the work was stopped by foul' seedsmen, who presented the matter to the school board as an interference with their business, a position which has not been taken by any other seedsmen or nur- serymen in this country, the claim being universally made by seed dealers that the school garden work brings them more business. The Civic Improvement League has been granted the privilege of using whatever land of a 1GO-acre tract of the Missouri Botanical Garden is needed. Five acres were used in 190-!, 150 children, report- ing in sections of 20 once a week, availing themselves of this oppor- tunity. Five plats 5 by 10 feet and one plat three times as large, for corn, were assigned to each child. Instead of rows of various kinds of vegetables and flowers, as in most children's gardens, but one kind of vegetable was planted in a plat. The corn plats were kept together in one part of the tract. Prizes were awarded at the ('11(1 of the sea- son to the boys with the highest records for punctuality, attendance, good work, and deportment. 34 CORNELL UNIVERSITY, ITHACA, NEW YORK. Through its bureau of nature study, Cornell University has come in touch with thousands of children of New York State, who have been urged to have gardens of their own and to. further the improve- ment of school grounds. Nature bulletins are issued. to them, giving dear directions, interestingly written, in regard to seed and bulb planting, and planning and caring for gardens. Through its efforts more than 500 school grounds in the State were improved by chil- dren in 1904. Primarily, the desire of the university is to aid the children of country schools, but its influence is strongly felt in the city schools. DE WITT CLINTON PARK, NEW YORK CITY. The work in New York City that has attracted attention through- out the United States is that of the Children's School Farm in the De vVitt Clinton Park, conducted by Mrs. Henry G. Parsons. The school has been visited the past summer by more than a thousand per- sons representing educational institutions in this country and. abroad. De -Witt Clinton Park is 7 acres in extent, in the heart of a tene- ment district, from Fifty-second to Fifty-fourth streets and from Eleventh to Twelfth avenues. After property is acquired for park purposes it usually takes several years for the park department to secure the money, make the plans, and accomplish the work of con- struction and improvement. During the seasons of 1902 and 1~03 Mrs. Parsons conducted her pioneer farm school on the rough site of the future park, and in 1904 the work was carried on as well as it could be while the contractors proceeded with construction and per- manent improvement. A suitable plat for the continuation of the farm school is included as a feature of the plans which will make De 'Witt Clinton Park one of the most complete small parks in the world. Mrs. Parsons, in her report to the park board, says: No plow in the park department was strong enough to break the ground the first year, so a city contractor was resorted to for a heavy street-breaktug plow. Rags, wire, bottles, tin cans, and rocks were unearthed, as this had heen a dumping ground for years. But the conqnerlng of d iffk-ultles is one of Iife's most exhilarating lessons. Here was a nelghborhood where the rougher element oonsidered they owned everything in slght, They ('alled themselves the Rons of Rest. Going to prison for ten days or six months was simply au incident in their lives, which they spoke of as ••Going to Larry ~Iul'phy's farm," 01' ".\ sail up the river." The oity seemed to IUlI'e forgotten this section. I was do- xlrous of tr3'inl' the effect of the gurden on just suc-h a neighborhood. «on- vinced that if the results should he what I untlcipated no one nepll fepl dis- couraged about stm-tlng I'nrllens anywhere. From the day the real work began the interest wns intense. A 3-foot-high fr-uce, on whir-h udults could lean comfortably nnrl see overvthlng hnppening in 35 the garden, satisfied their curtoslty, that strongest of human traits. Every one realized that only the Hmited space excluded the innny others from the delights of ~al"(lpJling, so the noighborhoorl was led to f'eel that it was" our farm." Courtesy, justice, nnd pride in the work were xti nmlu ted to the utmost, and proved most effective discipline. 'I'he only real puutslnucut was banish- ment. 'I'he children rapidly learned to answer signals, and a teacher with a whistle could handle man)', and save her Yoke. Seed planting was taught to tile chlldreu in classes of 25. Twenty-five children at a time, with tags, tile numbers on which corresponded with those on the sticks used to stake their :i by () claim, were lined up and given direc- tions, then marched into tile farm, roriulng two sides of a hollow square around a small plat, where the gardener went through tile whole process of making the furrows, describing the seeds put in, covering them, etc. The children then marched to their plats, went through the same process, making furrows with the sharp end of a stick, covering and patting down with the spatula containing the number; then right-about face and out the gate they went, faces glowing with exciternont. which was not lesseuod when a Iow days later the earth began to crack open and the little plants peeped out. At the same time seeds of a like vurtcty were planted in sawdust that the process of those underground might be watched. I:'e\'en vnrietles of vegotu- hIes were planted in each plat; corn in the «enter: on either side of this string and butter beans, peas, rudisbes, turnips, and lettuce. A border of buckwheat was around till' entire farm. 'I'he second sunuuer, because of the grading. for the new park, the garden had to be laid out in another vla('p on the grounds. Agn in we were H'ry lute. "'ith no thought of nbnndoniug \I'C made the best of clrcumstuncos. "'hpn I mention that our first year's garden was planted Jtilv :W and the second year .luly 17, it is to give everyone couruge to make a start. no matter how unfavor- able the beginning. Only unlimited faith in the value of what one is endeavoring to accomplish for mankind could account for adhering to it throngh the worst of conditions, opposition, and criticism. During the sum- mer of 1904:the real work of construction in the park began. Fearing she might lose ground already gained with these people should the work be discontinued during the period of park con- struction, Mrs. Parsons, assisted by her son and daughter, braved the .discomforts and continued the work on a smaller area than formerly. At this time the permanent location of the .• farms" had been graded and temporary structures for a tool house and a farmhouse had been completed. Mrs. Parsons and her helpers were to be found on the ground daily from 9 a. m. to (j p. m., patiently awaiting the arrival of the top soil needed and receiving applica- tions for the 4-by-ll plats. "Mrs. Parsons, may I have a farm? " was asked by more than 500 children, more than half of whom were refused, owing to lack of space. The city has been asked to make an appropriation to carry on the work next year. If it does this, it will 1>e possible to reach 1,000 children. The gardens will be run six months, in two terms of three months each. Five hundred will work each term, and thus two crops will be harvested. No better vacation school could be devised for these tenement children. New York is to be congratulated on the wisdom of its park boa I'd in incorporating the children's gardens in its general scheme for the new park. This act is unprecedented in this country. PUBLIC SCHOOL No.4, NEW YORK CITY. One other effort in New York City needs special mention. In the heart of the New York Ghetto the teachers of Public School Xo. !, on Rivington street, conducted a gard('n on a lot +0 by 7+ feet. Seeds were furnished by the United States Department of Agricul- ture, through lIon. lIenry M. Goldfogle, Congressman for the dis- trict. The early work was a great success, radishes a nrl lettuce maturing before the close of school. Later the garden was do- stroyed, as it became a part of a vacation playgrou]l(]. In a recent letter Miss L. E. Rector, the principal, stated that until this work was undertaken last spring two-thirds of the ~,+OO children attending the school had never seen a plant growing except in a Ho\Y('1' pot. Almost as large a number had no idea of grass or of a tree. To attempt to teach nature study under such conditions would seem almost hopeless. This little bit of gardening has boon a revelation to the children and likewise an inspiration for gr('at('r work on the' part of the teachers. The care giwn by theso nature-starved little ones to a growing plant was that one would gi ve to a d('arly loved brothel' or sister. The gardens received their first attention in the morning and they were the last things attended to in the e\·ening. PUBLIC SCHOOLS, ROCTIESTEH, ~EW YORK. The example set by Rochester is worthy of imitation. Schools are generously provided with land sufficient for decoration and play- ground purposes. The school authorities grad!' and sod the school yards, while the shrubbery is planted by private enterprise and by the children. In interior planning and exterior planting the "radswoi·th SdlOO!, Mr. C. D. Blackmore, principal. ranks among the model schools of the country. A park, the gift of a pri vate citizen, adjoins tho school ground. Both are harmoniously planted and except ionallv well kept, but not to the deprivation of the children, who are allowed tho use of the park as a playgrollnd. At School No. 15 the children raised $(j00 for tho improvement of the grounds. A gardener was hired for the purpose'. The simple rules of landscape gardening were followed-c-an open space, bordered by mass planting of shrubbery, avoiding straight lines. School No. 26 stands for progress in its district. Col.,. P. Ioul- 37 throp, the principal, introduced sewing, cooking, ana manual train- inzb into the school eight years in advance of the rest of the citv. • Assisted by the hearty cooperation of his teaching corps and prompted by the belief that the best teaching is that which produces self-help. he has accomplished this work by the most persistent efforts. A great lover of nature, his school has celebrated Arbor Day for many years by planting memorial trees in Seneca Park. "'\\}wn the im- provement of the school grounds was undertaken, four years ago, to be allowed to help meant a reward for industry. Children who had done satisfactory work for a stated period were allowed a half-day holiday to work, ]wing obliged to provide their own tools. Only a portion of the ground was improved at a time. Several weeks elapsed between the first and the second attempts. to permit the good work already accomplished to serve as an incent ivo. By this method the entire yard was sodded and planted with trees and shrubbery as a reward for industry in school. The street upon which the school is located had not been graded. Through Colonel Moulthrop's in Iluence the children aroused public sentiment to a dpgn'p sufficient to cause the cit), authorities to grade and pave the street and lay tho sidewalk. ~\S in many northern cities, a space bet ween the sidewalk and curb had been left for sod- ding. Xo effort was mudo hy the citizens to have this sodding done. so the children bl'is. That this theory has been worked out in practical resu lts is attested by the changed aspect of the district in the neighborhood of tho Goodrich House, where, in a district of great density of population, the experiment seemed par- ticularly unpromising. The blight of smoke and soot of neighboring factories was over all, and, moreover, while many people love flowers. few are willing to work against odds for a bloom. Undaunted by these difficulties, Mr. E. ,Yo Uaines orzanized a neighborhood club for the cultivation of flowers, and from thi small bezinninz ha come a widespread and far-reaching movement. Its success i due to un 41 failing enthusiasm and untiring efforts in forwarding and extending the scope of the enterprise. The association reaches the children through the hearty cooperation of the teachers of the public schools. A committee of teachers and school officers directs the work, while a committee from the associa- tion buys and distributes the seed. This is done in a systematic, businesslike manner. Envelopes containing the following list of seeds and particulars as to their distribution are sent to the schools in February: 'rnE HOME GAROENINO ASSOCIATION. SEEDS FOR ] !lO-l-. Price, 1 cent a packet. )lark opposite tbe variety the number of packets wanted. Sepa- ru t e colors en n uot he ordered. ASTER mixed, scarlet, wbite, blue, -, I NASTURTIUM, a climber, tellow, or- ange. and red, 6 feet hig _ and ':ose, 15 inches high ---- ------ BACHELOR'S BUTTON, Ott COItN- NAH'l'uR'rIUM, bush. yellow, orange, ~-LOWER, blue, pink, and white, Z and red, 1foot high _ feet high -- -- --- - -- -- -- -- --- --- CIIINA PINKS, mixed, pink, scarlet, BALSAM on LADY SLI PP~;R, mixed white, and lilac, 6 inches high _ co10rs,'2 feet higb ---- _ PIII,OX, mixed. scarlet, pink, and CALI"IOPSIS, ou COREOPSIS, yellow white, 1 foothigh _ and brown, 2 feet high _ SCAltI~E'.r RUNNEIl, a climber, scar- .COSMOS, mixed, white, pink, and red, let, 7 feet high •. _ 5 feet high _ VY.ltllF':NA, mixed, wbite,scarlet, pur- FOUR-O'CLOCK, lellow, white, and ple, 6 inches high .. _ crimson. 2 feet igh . .- , _ ZI NN lA, scarlet, ~ feet high. . _ MARIOOLD, yellow, 1 foot high **G'"A IlIOLI BL'LIlH, red, yellow, and I 1 _ MORNING-GI"ORY, a climber, mixed pink, 1 cent eacu.. . _ colors, 12 feet high . , _ Return this envelope to tho teacher wi tlr your 1II01Jey. Do not put money in this envelope. No. of packets, --. Amount, -- cents, "'rite your nruno here: --. Address, ---, Grade, ---. floe-bool, ---. Your seeds wf ll he dell verod to von in this onvolopo about ~ray 1. Prepare your garden in •••. pri l. H('leet the sunnlost part of your yn rd, hut nvoirl :1 pluco where the dripping from the roof will fall on the hod. Dil:( clpep-a full foot. Soil with well-rotted munure dug in will gil'e lietter result» than poor soil. Four-o'clock, bachelor's button. murtgotrt, c'alliopsis, zinnia, mornlug-gtorv, and nasturttum nrc the pasi('s! to grow SU('(·pssfull.\'. * Cosmos is not reeouunonrlod for sllloki('st distri('t:-<. Hlooms in Oc-tober. ** Gladioli bulbs should h(' planted right Ri<1('up, in a I:(ood. rich soil. in a sunny situation. Ii inchos deep und (; in('!les apart. Will send up one stalk of. bloom tbree months after planting, 1"IOI\,('r stalk mnv nep<1support hy tying to a stick. 'I'he hulhs should he taken up in Or-tobor nnrl planted noxt spring, Store where they will not he frozen. Will make a fine display ill sr-hool yu rd. ~lany window boxes should be planted. Trv one. After the seeds desired by each child are indicated, the envelopes are sent by the principals of buildings to the Goodrich House, ,.•.. hile the money is forwarded to Ow treasurer, .\. slight profit accrues from this work, but it is returned to the schools in the form of prizes or by the donation of bulbs. The s('('clsare delivered the Ist of Mav. Lessons are given in the schoolroom on the ways to plant and the care of the gardens. To supplement these lessons, the association distri- butes cards containing the following instructions: 42 THE HOME GARDENING ASSOCIAHON. 1904. DIRECTIONS FOR CARE OF THE GARDEN. Plant seeds in garden or boxes early in May. Fill boxes with 4 or 5 inches of fine, rich soil. Place boxes in sunny place and sprinkle every day. Cover boxes at night if very cold. Transplant seedlings to the garden about June 1, on a damp day. Sow seeds of calltopsls, nasturtiums, mornlng-glorles. nnd f'our-o'clocks in the garden, as they do not stand transplanting. SUGGES'rIONS FOR WINDOW BOXES. Make the box G or 8 lnches deep, ]2 to 15 inches wide, and as long as the win- dow is wide. Fill the boxes with fine, rich soil and fasten firmly to the sunniest window. Place similar boxes on the porch or fence. Plant mornlug-glorles on the side nearest the house and traln up on strin~s. Plant climbing nasturtiums neal' outside, to hang down over the box. Plant ca lllopsls, zinnias. marigolds, asters, or verbenas in middle of box. Plants should stand 4 or 5 inches apart. Boxes need water every clay. MAKING OF YOUR FLOWER BEDS. Select sunniest part of the yard. Avoid a place where the dripping from the roof will fall on the bed. Rest effects are produced by planting all of one variety in one place. PREPARA'.rIO~ OF THE SOIL. Dig up the bed, as early as possible, a foot deep. Mix with the soil some rich earth, well-rotted manure. or leaf mold from the woods. Rake the beds and keep the soil fine and free from lumps. PLANTING OF REF-OS. See directions on the seed packet. WA'I'FJIlING OF TJH~ GARDFJN. Sprinkle the beds every day, if necessarv. until the plants are 1 inch high. Do not allow the soil to become dry. Sprinkle thoroughly every few days, when the plants are 2 or ~ inches high, instead of lightly every day. Water in the morning and evening. THINNING OF PLANTS I~ TilE GARDEN. Avoid having plants too crowded. Thin the plants when they are 2 or ~ inches high, on a cloudy day. when tho soil is moist. 'I'runsplant seedlings pulled up to another bed. or give them to some friend. Take up a little soil with each plant. Use a trowel, an old kitchen fork, or small, ftat, thin stick. PICKING OF FLOWERS. Do not allow flowers to go to seed. Pick them every day and more will bloom. Allow a few of the best flowers to go seed for next year's garden. Keep beautiful, fresh flowers in your house and share them with the slr-k. 43 TIII~GS TO ]{E:\IJ~:\IBER. Dig deep and make the soil fine on tile surface. Keep pulling out tile weeds all summer. Sprinkle the seeds every day. Water the bed thorougbly every few days during the whole summer. Pick your flowers every clay. Keep your garden neat. Flowers require attention all summer. By attending to these things you will hnve flowers all summer and for tbe flower show in the fall. Each school building holds an exhibit in the autumn, and the best in each division is awarded a prize, consisting either of money or bulbs. 1£ the former, it is with the stipulation that it shall be devoted to improving school grounds. Instead of finding in the 38 exhibits held in 1004: that thov were largely the result of the efforts of teachers or a small number of children, as has often been the case, a large proportion of the children contributed, and in one case every child in school bronght something from his garden. The association enlarged its work in 1904: by inducing the board of education to employ an expert nature-study lecturer, who would combine home gardening with other nature-study topics, and by establishing gardens in connection with four schools where the chil- dren were owners of plats and the products belonged to them. The work in this case was conducted after school hours. It is desirable. where it can be made a class exercise, that school time be devoted to this work, for when done after hours it is necessarily voluntary, and those who do not volunteer are often the ones it is especially desirable to reach. They may not be volunteers through lack of interest, or it may be they are compelled to add to the family support by work- ing after school. These can only be reached by making the work a part of the regular school curriculum. :Moreover, the strength of the teacher should be considered. K 0 teacher is able, after a dav spent in the schoolroom, to put into an outdoor lesson the enthusiasm necessary for its success, The closer the garden is brought to the schoolroom the more practical will the teaching of our schools become. The results in Cleveland substantiate the wisdom of the oft- expressed idea that to gain immediate results in the improvement of home surroundings the effort must be made through the medium of the public school children. The work of the Horne Gardening Association was called to the attention of the executive body of the Slavic Alliance, an organiza- tion for the general uplifting of the Slavic race, of which, by birth or descent, there are 100.000 representatives in Cleveland. The alli- ance incorporated home gardening as a part of its permanent crusade 44 for a more beautiful Cleveland. In 1004-, besides selling 20,000 packages of seed, 25,000 copies of a pamphlet on home improvement, containing hints on planting, were printed in foul' different languages for distribution in the Slavic quarter of me city. PL'BLIC SCHOOLS, PHILADELPHIA, PE:N:NSYLVANIA. Philadelphia has seven gardens conducted for 'school children. These owe their existence to the efforts of the Vacant Lot Associa- tion, though they are not under its care. An offer was made by it to the board of education, to the Public Education Association, and to the Civic Club to secure and prepare suitable land for school gal' dens if these bodies would bear the expense of teaching. The Civic Club carries the responsibility of two-one at Twenty-second and Locust streets, GO by 100 feet, containing :H plats planted in vege- tables; the other at Twenty-second and Morris streets, containing G4 plats planted in vegetables and flowers. The board of education controls the two largest gardens-one at Fifth and Catherine streets, accommodating 250 children; the other at Fiftv-sixth street and Lansdowne avenue, accommodating 2GS children-and $3,:'500 was appropriated for the 'york. The salaried workers are a supervisor at $GOO for five and a half months, three assistants at $300 each, and a laborer at $50 a month. The children arc divided into four classes, each attending three- quarters of an hour in the morning. They are provided with small rakes and spades, hand weeders, and watering pots. The gardens are well planned. From a central mound of flowers four wide paths divide the land into a corresponding number of sections, each class eultivating a section. An individual plat is 4 by 1:2 feet, separated from its neighbor by a 2-foot path. The planting is uniform, five kinds of vegetables being raised. The same rules are in opera lion as on the vacant lots-to cnltivate well and to respect the rights of others. Keglect after a certain time causes forfeiture, as there is a large waiting list. The afternoons are devoted to watering, finishing the morning's work, and raking paths. A large tract of land in the vicinity of the Lansdowne avenue garden serves as a plavground while the ~hil- dren are waiting for their class hour. The hope of those most deeply interested is that the children will acquire in these small gardens a taste for and a knowlod O'eof the work sufficient to induce them to cultivate vacant lots in ""the near future. U. S. Dept. of Agr., Bul. 1(0, Office of Expt. Stations. PLATE V. FIG. 1.-YARD OF NORMAL SCHOOL STUDENT, WASHINGTON, D. C., SHOWING OPEN LAWN AND MASS BORDER PLANTING. FIG. 2.-CHILDREN AT WORK IN GARDEN OF THE WHITTIER SCHOOL, HAMPTON INSTITUTE, HAMPTON, VA. SCHOOL GARDEN WORK AT WASHINGTON, D. C., AND HAMPTON, VA. 45 IIA~lPTON IKSTITUTE, ILUIPTON, VIRGINIA. The following account of the work conducted by the Hampton K ormal and Agricultural Institute has been taken from the reports of the institute for 1002-190± and from the Southern ,Yorkman: Every student in the school received last year (1903-4) some in- struction in agriculture. Mr. C. L. Goodrich, whose connection with the institute has lately boon severed, devoted years of study to the preparation of a course which should present, in simple form and largely by means of experiment, the rudimentary truths that have to do with soil, animals, and plants. He and his corps of assistants in- troduced this course into the ,Yhittier School. and, through the Hunt- ington and southern industrial classes, into the schools of the nt>igh- boring counties, So long as it is true tha t more than 1\0 per cent of the negro race in tho South and nea rly all of the Indians are de- pendent upon tho soil for their living. it is clear that Hampton Insti- tute should make agriculture its central studv. This the school has endeavored to do. TIl(' attitude of the entire school toward agri- culture has undergone an important and wholesome change in the last ten years. During the school year of 1893-9± a total of 157 students, under one instructor and two assistants, comprised the department of agricultural instruction. The year 1!lO-+ found the department with five men instructors, who devoted their whole time to agriculture; five women, who gave part of their time to it, and a foreman in charge of greenhouse and garden work, with a total of 911 students, who de- voted more or less time to the subject. Consider able progress was made in 1!lO-+ in introducing agriculture into common schools. As a result of the introduction of agriculture into the ,Vhittit>r School, 200 gardens have been started by the chil- dren at their own homes. It is clear that if there is to be any interest in agricultlll'e among the people generally, instruction must be given in tho primary schools. Hampton is making every effort to bring this about. At the last session of the summer school every teacher in attendance was required to take either agriculture or nature study. The nature-study bureau promises to be of great assistance in spread- ing the love of nature and the study of agriculture throughout the South. Kine leaflets for teachers, two for children, and eleven for farmers have so far been published. Fifteen nature-study libraries of 12 volumes each were loaned during 100!. The ,Yhittier School is the practice school for Hampton Institute. (See PI. V, fig. 2.) It is at the same time a county school, the 400 children who attend it having their homes in the neighborhood. The garden in connection with this school is somewhat unique in ar- rangement, following no model, but being adapted to the special needs 46 of the pupils. Certain definite ends have been sought, an~ these h.av( determined the plan of the garden and the method of instruction. "Tith the idea of developing a sense of ownership and with the thought at the same time of encolll:aging cooperation or partnership. 200 separate plats are prepared and each is given to two child~e~, to be planted and onltivnted by their own hands and the crops divided between them. To develop a regard for order, symmetry, and beauty, all the gardens are planted under the general direction of one person. the same crops being raised by all members of a class. To make gar dening of permanent value the principles of germination and plant zrowth are t auzht o o. bv simple eXIJerimentsin the class room. The gardens cover :2 acres, being fenced from the road and sur roundi ng land. The beds vary in size from 4 by (j feet for the kinder zarten workers to 11 by b • 15 feet for the seventh-zrade ~ boys and girls Between the beds is a I-foot path, and on either side of each section is a walk :2feet wide. There are border beds for ornamental flowers along the sides and rear of the space allotted to beds. To provide for overflow work for exceptionally quick and energetic workers, the beds of each class are separated by one long plat 6 feet wide, which extends the full length of each section. In some of these overflow beds strawberries and raspberries have been raised. A man is em- ployed to take general care of the garden plat. He mows the grass. plants the border beds, and keeps the paths in order. 'When it was announced two years ago to the children of the IVhit- tier School that they were to be taught gardening the news was re- ceived with mixed feelings. 'Yhile the little ones were pleased, tho older girls thought it a disgrace to work in the fields, and it was neces- sary to usc compulsion. After two years there is no pupil in the school who does not look forward with eagemess to the work. If it is nocossary to be absent from school he thinks it must not be on ••gar