The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-09-18

:alSe lew vegetables and fruits anC
;hus supplement his modest salary;
out here and there teacher turns il
10 professional use by encouraging the
children to take IN 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 &C.
quaintance with the real flowers and
fruits, birds, insects and worms found
outside. The same habits of inquiry
and analysis which are acquired from
a ell-directei 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 it's 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 9
good general understanding of 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 9
half. acre. 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 !anc
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 part of the pupils were
found sowing seed, while others were
covering it with the necessary deptt
of soil; still others were laying out
paths, picking dead leaves off stems
replanting 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
tion 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 ane
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
lens ct home.
Bees ore 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 onct
get to studyit. Thequeen was singled
put and placed in the hive, the work
srs were gathered and put with her
ind new colony was formed.
The principal of the school at Alf
:er has taught there for thirty-twt
years, and has made 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
igh degree of perfection in the in
;ensive farming Of the district, 1t has
undoubtedly produced its effect in the
introduction of the best varieties oi
:ruit ard vegetables there. The chill
iren 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; ane
nearly all of them have little flower
gardens or potted plants for their ex
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, un
fortunately, are recruited from the
cities, and lack anything more than o
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 ins struction is much bet:
ter. In view of the fact that most OF
our American teachers of country
,chools are of rural birth and early
education, it seems n pity that prac.
tical horticulture could not be made
part of the normal curriculum through
which they are expected to pass be-
fore receiving a charge. The.oppor-
tunities for garden schools are abun-
dant in every country settlement in
the United States, and whole neigh
borhoods could be transformed in ap-
L. -, ~ ~ fLip r, &c Tho ~, tkor