The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-03-18
URGES CHILDREN
TO PLANT TREES
Prof. LANCE Discusses This Ed.
ucationaI Project of the
Thursday Club.

The members of the Thursday club
are doing some good work for the city
! by undertaking the distribution of fruit
trees among the school childrens" said
Prof d. LANCE, who plans the nature
study work for the public schools of
the city. He thus explains the tree
planting project:
The plan, as understand it. is to have
the children who wish to do so buy plum
trees or apple trees and plant them OH
home lots on Arbor day Full directions
how to plant the trees and how to take
care of them will be given with each
tree. The agriculture experiment station
mas very literally offered to furnish these
trees at cost.
The whole plan is so sensible and prac-
teal that it should receive the hearty
Endorsement of all public spirited citizens.
In every country of Northern Europe one
finds fruit trees near every humble home
and along public highways. These trees
are source OF great enjoyment and of
considerable profit to their owners. The
only reason We have nothing or little of
that kind In our own country is to be
found III the youth of many of our towns.
and in the lack of knowledge of the va
rieties and species that viii do well I'M
der our climatic conditions
During the last ten years the Minnesota
experiment station and the State Agricul-
tural society have succeeded in either
importing or producing a large number of
hardy fruit trees and fruit-bearing shrubs
that are IN every way suitable to the
conditions of climate and soil in Mime
sofa, and every year the exhibit of Min
neSota- grown apples and other fruit at
the state fair is getting more conspicu-
Gus.
Some of the Difficulties
The principal difficulties that had to be
met by the experimenters and growers
or fru1t IN this part Of the country are
to be found in our rather great ex-
tremes Of winter and summer tempera-
lures, occasional summer and winter
droughtS, and high winds But the coNdi-
lions on our city lots are very favorable
to the growth of hardy fruit trees. 1t is
very easy to water one or two trees If
any artificial watering should be required,
and the strong winds are everywhere
| broken by buildings, so that the trees
will not suffer at all from that cause.
Moreover, Minnesota fruit growers have
at I'VE or six years of age, so that the
child or person who has planted the tree
can enjoy some of the fruit of it.
From an educational point of view
nothing could be more valuable both for
getting practical knowledge and for the
formation of character than to have chill
dren take care of a few fruit trees, and
everyone who has had experience with
children knows how delighted they are
with work Of that kind. The average
child is apt to be a destructive indivi-
dual towards everything he has not work.
ed for, but he will tend with almost
mothefly care any plant he raised him
self, and which he knows to be his own
One of the great difficulties teachers
have to meet in city schools is to have
children actually see things and do
things. The whole recent movement for
industrial training and for nature study
really amounts to a realization of the
fact that true education does not con-
sist Of book knowledge alone but that
that girl and that boy is best educated
sonal observation and then reason from
the facts he has observed, and who can
make plans and execute them with skilled
| hands.
1t is impossible to conceive that Long
fellow could have written "Iiawatha" IL
he had spent his whole childhood and
youth on the paved streets of a large
city, could Bryant ever have, written
Robert of Lincoln if he had not heard
the bobolink singing in the meadows.
Object Lesson in Cereal Crops.
wish strongly to advocate another
measure along the line of work which the
Thursday club has interested itself in.
+ There are many children in our schools
who have never. or very rarely, seen the
staple crops of Minnesota growing in the
field, and 1 wish as many schools as can
find or make the necessary additions
would put in this spring one or two
square yards of each of the following
staple Minnesota crops Wheat, oats,
corn, barley, raw flax. buekwheat and po
tatoeS. These crops will grow in any
soil of medium quality, provided it be
thoroughly spaded to the depth of about
six or eight inches. Where the soil is
nothing but clay, or very sandy, some
good black soil should be mixed with the
clay and sand. The necessary. seed can
be secured free or at nominal cost, and
II the crops are put in in proper time the
child can see them make good growth
and keep them free of all weeds until
school closes. During the summer the
children in the neighborhood or some one
else sufficiently interested. can look after
the crops and cut them III proper time,
and preserve them so that they may be
available as valuable objects for nature
study and geography when school begins
in the fall. These field crops need very
little attention, and l feel quite con-
WINGED that such a plan would be en-
tirely feasible for many of the schools,
and that the benefits derived from it will
be very great.