Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-16

teal training. No plan of a school to
which the state contributes support is &C
garden.
There have been spasmodic efforts in this
country for the last twenty years, but only
during the last three years has the move
ment become generally widespread.
Strangely enough, too it seems confined to
cities and to the largest and most densely
populated ones. The effort has been pro-
noted by civic societies. by settlement
workers, by school officials, by business
firms and by private funds. The strongest
effort for the promotion of the work in
rural schools has been made in the state
of New York, through the nature study bu
reau of the college Of agriculture of Cor
nell University. 1t has reached thousands
of children throughout the state by it's
popular leaflets. At the same time the
children in the cities have been active. One
of the most notable efforts is in Rochester,
y. Y. The school grounds throughout the
city are attractive, sometimes by the i'm
mediate efforts Of the children sometimes
made so through the generosity of the
seedsmen and nurserymen. Grammar
School No. 26 changed the appearance of
the entire neighborhood in which it is To-
Gated Through public sentiment created
by the children the street upon which the
school stands was graded and paved.
x x
The strip between the sidewalk and curb
that is left for tree planting and sodding
in so many places was entirely neglected
by the city authorities. Permission was
obtained for the children to do the work
Sod was brought by them to edge the curb
and the remainder of the strip was planted
in flowers. For a half mile the curbstone
gardens flourlshed last summer and furnish
ed twelve clothes baskets filled with flowers
for the flower show. In New York city, the
childrens school farm, conducted by Mrs.
Henry G. Parsons, a member of one of the
local school boards. has attracted atten-
ton at home and abroad. The farm is a
recognized part of De Witt Clinton Park
with an appropriation of 5000 year to
carry it on. About 300 children have in
dividual plots three feet by eleven feet
everything they raise being their own. 1t
Is volunteer vacation movement, the
children coming from any school in the vi
cinity. On Rivington street, Public School
No. has conducted a small garden the
last year This school is unique in that
every child of the 2, 400 attending 1t Is of
Jewish parentage. Nature study statistics
were taken before the garden work began.
Two-thirds of the 2,4O0 had never seen
grass, nor plant growing outside of
pot.
To 1000 of them a tree was but name
They had never seen one. For sanitary
reasons the annex connected with the school
was condemned and torn down. The prin-
cipal obtained the use of the ground for
the season for a garden. One school elect
ed to plant grass another radishes, an
other pansies. etc. The interest enthusi-
asm and true pleasure to these nature
starved children was unreasonable.
Philadelphia has followed New Yorks ex-
ample in the school farm, but has out
stripped it, In that it has made the work
officially part of the school program
Two large tracts OF land, one In West
Philadelphia. the other in one of the crowd
ed foreign quarters of South PHILADELPHIA
are cultivated by $50 children each. under
the care of the board of education. The
board appropriated $500 for the work last
year employing a supervisor at $500 for
the summer months. and three assistants
The present season twenty schools of the