Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-05-11
THE SCHOOL GARDEN
VALUE OF THIS NATURE STUDY
LABORATORY.
The Practical knowledge as Well as
Artistic Conceptions Which
It Affords.

Richard ]. Crosby in Boston Transcript.
1 define the school garden a garden
that performs some education function
in the school with which it is connected.
1t is a garden laboratory-a nature study
laboratory. 1t does for the children out-of-
doors what the chemical laboratory, the
carpenter shop and the kitchen laboratory
do indoors 1t trains the eye and the hand
along with the intellect, and at the same
time gives pleasurable employment and
physical exercise in the open air and sun
shine. To many pupils In the city 1t opens
up whole new world-nature's life ro-
nance, a divine pastoral aboundins IN
amusing little comedies and the most In
tensely interesting tragedies-the struggles
for existence-all this at time when every
impression made upon the child mind leaves
an indelible stamp. And not, only does 1t
arouse interest in the many phenomena OF
nature thus brought under the directed OBJ
servations of the child. but it also gives
zest to many otherwise dry exercises that
the skillful teacher correlates with 1t.
Kinds of School Gardens.
Two fairly distinct types Of school gar
dens are found. In one the ornamental fea-
lures predominant. The children assist IN
planting the school grounds with wild flow
ers and shrubs or cultivated flowers, orna-
mental plants and trees. or various COM
binations of native and introduced plants.
Ordinarily in gardens of this type the
aesthetic features are emphasized, though
not always to the exclusion of other valu-
able instruction. The children may learn,
to a certain extent, the principles of plant
growth the reasons for pruning and graft
Ing trees, the best methods OF combating
insect pests and fungus diseases of flowers,
shrubs and trees, and many other practical
details in maintaining pleasant home sur
roundings.
In the other type of school garden-the
vegetable garden-we find the economic ele-
ment predominating. Children are IRE
uuently allowed to plant flowers in connec-
ton with vegetables, but this feature OF the
work is usually incidental to the fnstruc-
ton in growing useful plants Usually the
garden is divided into small plats. from
four to ten feet wide by six to twenty feet
long. and one or two pupils are MADE re-
sponsible for the care of each plat. Here
they plant lettuce. radishes. beans, pota-
toes and other farm and garden veeetaoles
learn to distinguish them from the weeds
that threaten to choke them out, become
familiar with their habits of growth and
methods of reproduction. discover numer-
Gus insect enemies and other pests that re-
quire great ingenuity to eradicate, and
gradually acquire nomenclature that adds
greatly to the stock of words in their grow
ing vocabulary.
Landscape Effects.
Such gardens do not lend themselves to
the realization of landscape effects. but fur
nish many valuable lessons not to be &C
quired in the ornamental garden, where, as
a rule all of the pupils work together.
Among other things they develop a sense
of ownership and awaken a greater person
al interest With this sense of ownership
comes a growing regard for the property OF
others. 1t has been found in the education
of incorrigible boys that allotting to each
boy plat of ground upon which he can
raise what he will and enjoy the fruits of
his labor has a powerful influence In over
coming the tendency to indulge in petty
thieving. Furthermore. the few expert
ments in school garden work that have been
give tangible results indicate that children
who have engaged in work of this kind at
school acquire wholesome respect not
only for the individual property of others.
but for city property and other corporate
property, for the shade trees in the streets
and the shrubbery and flowers in parks.
The individual plat system, also, more
than any other fixes personal responsible
plat shows neglect the teacher knows
where to fix the blame. If another shows
excellence in design or painstakfng effort
the teacher knows where praise should be
bestowed. 1t has been found in schools
where this system has been tried that to
deprive a neglectful pupil of his plat and
give it to some one else has been one of
the strongest incentives to continuous and
painstaking effort. After a pupil has pre-
pared his ground. sown his seed and be-
slowed some little care upon the plants
that have come up, he very much dislikes
to have the fruits of his labor enjoyed by
someone else.
Development Of the Movement
School gardens of the two types men,
toned are mostly modern institutions No
concerted movement for their establish
ment dates back more than thirty five
years. Aside from Germany. where two or
three states gave encouragement to the
establishment of school gardens, over
eighty years ago. Austria and Sweden were
leaders in the movement and were practi-
cally contemporaneous in giving official
announcement to it. The Austrian i'm
perial school law of March IA, 1869, pre-
scribed that where practicable a garden
and place for agricultural experiments
shall be established at every rural school,"
In Sweden, seven months later, royal
circular was published which required
school gardens averaging from seventy to
eighty square yards to be appropriately
laid out. In both countries the movement
had rapid growth. In Austria the number
of school gardens In 1898 was estimated
to be over 1900, and in some of the Aus
TRAN provinces there is not a school with
out garden. In Sweden the number of
school gardens in 1894 was 1870
Belgium and Switzerland.
In Belgium, since 1873. law has been in
force requiring that each school have a
garden of at least 1914 square rods, to be
used in connection with instruction in
botany, horticulture and agriculture. In
Switzerland an active campaign for the
establishment Of school gardens was be-
gun in 1881 by the Swiss Agricultural So
ciety, and about 1885 the federal govern
ment began to subsidize school gardens and
to offer prizes for plans and essays on the
subject. School gardens are maintained in
connection with normal schools and in that
way the teachers receive special training
which enables them to make the best use
of these important institutions In Bel
GUM remarkable impetus was given to
yepef BILE gardening q rnatter of great i'm