The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-23

:aise few vegetables and fruits and
thus supplement his modest salary;
out here and there teacher turns it
to professional use by encouraging the
children to take an interest in it.
They will then no longer content
themselves with the pictorial charts
On the walls of the schoolroom, but
will add to the study of these an ac-
quaintance with the, real flowers and
fruits, birds, insects and worms found
outside. The same habits of inquiry
and'analysis which are acquired from
vel. directed kindergarten are stimu-
lated by this simple nature-study, and
the elements of husbandry thus
picked up are not unlikely to be OF
real value later in life.
A school at After, with 400 pupils
and six teachers, has for one of its
compulsory features two hours week
of instruction in fruit culture, garden
ing and general farming during the
last two years of the course. The
school is fortunate in its situation, be
ing in rich region which has been
turned by intensive farming into one
vast garden, where vegetables alter
nate with orchards, with occasional
strips OF grain or forage plants. Nearly
every householder in After is an ex
perienced gardener. His wife and
children work in the field with him,
so that the youngsters early acquire
good general understanding CT garden
operations. For this reason the prin
cipal of the school has addressed his
special attention to fruit-culture,
which is not so widely understood.
His whole garden contains about
half.ac Dwarf fruits border the
paths. A nursery grown from seeds
planted by the children, and after
ward grated and pruned by them,
occupies prominentplace; while cur
rants, gooseberries, raspberries ;auc
other small fruits fill in every foot Of
the available space remaining.
The boys of the higher grade do all
the spading, planting, pruning and
harvesting, under the direction of the :.
principal, who works with them.
About twenty of the boys work in the
garden at time. On the occasion oi
one visit a part of the pupils were
found sowing seed, while others were
covering it with the necessary deptt
If soil; still others were laying ou'
paths, picking dead leaves off stems
teplanting empty beds, watering the
sown seed, etc. A few days later the
dwarf fruit trees required pruning,
and the boys did it with their own
nands; but not until, in each case,
the twig to be pruned had been exam.
med and the exact spot fixed for ;ap.
olying and explaining why that, and
40 other, should be chosen.
The principle underlying the rota.
rion of crops is taught by intensive
farming in this garden, where the
same soil is utilized for two or three
crops during the growing season, and
the produce sold. This system has
the double value Of teaching the chill
iren what particular crops succeed
each other to best advantage, and also
how the fruits should be prepared anc
put up for market. Harmful insects
and diseases, as soon as detected any
where, are made subject of specia
study for the whole class, and the
children learn to hunt down the same
noxious agents in their parents gar
dens at home.
Bees are not included in the regu
lar curriculum, but Incidentally they
are sometimes turned to account, anc
hive is always kept in the garden
One morning q swarm flew by the
school windows and alighted on
small tree. The children were at once
get to studyit. Thequeen was singled
out and placed in the hive, the work
srs were gathered and put with her
and new colony was formed.
The principal OF the school at Alf
.er has taught there for thirty-twt
years, and has made a speciality o.
horticulture from the first. He is o:
the opinion that the influence OF the
,hildren's garden-study has extended
through the whole village. While il
may not be solely accountable for the
nigh degree of perfection in the in
;ensive farming of the district, it has
undoubtedly produced its effect in the
introduction of the best varieties ol
fruit ard vegetables there. The. chill
lren seem to enjoy their garden work.
They gather seedlings from the for
est, graft them at home, and are soor
owners of their own fruit trees; and
nearly all of them have little flower
gardens or potted plants for their e1
elusive property.
This school, it should be said, is
aot sample of the rural common
schools generally, even in the same
province. Most of the teachers, i'm
fortunately, are recruited from the
cities, and lack anything more than
theoretical knowledge of the laws OF
plant- growth, which they impart to
the children by use of books and
charts. All this is regarded as having
an educational value, but OF course
the practical instruction is much bet.
ter. In view of the fact that most OF
our American teachers OF country
,chools are of rural birth and early
it seems q pity that prac-
tical horticulture could not be made a
part of the normal curriculum through
which they are expected to pass be-
fore receiving a charge. The oppor-
tunities for garden schools are abuu-
dant in every country settlement in
the United States, and whole neigh
borhoods could be transformed in ap-
pearance, to say nothing of the matter
of pecuniary profit, by cultivated