The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1902-11-20
THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 20, 1902
THE COUNTRY SCHOOL HOUSE

most sensible article on "The Coun-
try School House," urges that more
attention be pad to identifying school
grounds and utilizing yards in such a
way rs to make them an important
educational factor. The writer says:
1.-The school yard in which plants
are grown and which are made the
basis of instruction in plant growth
and development by a. teacher qualified
to instruct in such matters will have
an influence upon the children that
will remain while life lasts. The
school yard that is shaded with trees
and provided wi n walks will eX ert an
influence for good upon the children
attending the school, whatever may be
their business or profession i'm after life.
We are all more or less shaped i'm ac-
cordance with our surroundings and
influences.
awe do not expect that attention to
identifying school house grounds will
In itself accomplish much, but the in
struction which such condition will
suggest and lead up to will be of last
ing benefit to the boys and girls, what
ever may be their business or profess
sion. However high in the social or
political scale u person reaches. he
never quite looses his interest in the
soil and the plants that are grown i'm
it. 1t is said that after recent visit
to England Senator Hoar, of Msssa-
chusetts, brought back, young British
oaks from the royal forest OF Dean and
chestnuts from the estates of the, Earl
of Ducie. These will be studied by our
foresters as. they grow . in the
mall at Washington. within the en-
closure of tile botanical gardens at
Washington uiany trees, planted by
prominent. American statesmen. have
grown to be objects of great interest
and beauty. Charles Sumner planted
a European hornbeam; Thaddeus
Stevens an Oriental plane-tree; Senator
Beck an American elmS President
Hayes rare variety of oak; Senator
Hoar a cedar of Lebanon. A Scotch
plane-tree planted by Senator Frye is
pointed out to all visitors. There are
many others, bat enough have been
mentioned to show the interest that
attaches to.a tree carrying the name of
the person by whom it is'planted, and
to show that eminent men retain their
interestin such things.
"The young farmer attending the
district school could readily be taught
what a plant gets from the soil and
what it gets from the air. The several
grasses could be planted and their
office in filling the soil with humus,
enabling the soil to retain moisture,
could be- explained. The legumes-
peas, beans, clover End alfalfa could
be grown. in the school house yard, and
during recess or at the noon hour the
teacher could interest the students by,
digging up yoang pea or clover root
and showing the nodules, whose office
it is to bring che free nitrogen from the
atmosphere and fix IL i'm the soil.
"The pu fits would see that some re-
lation exists between the size of the no
dule amt the fruit Of the legame. Asa
plant grows older and blossoms and
seeds begin to form, the matter found
In the nodules rises in the plant to help
make seeds, leaving the nodules like
old egg SHELLS from which the birds
have been Matched.
"'Fhe microscope could be brought
into use in the study of the soil, and
microscopic plants could be studied,