Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1906-04-13
SCHOOL GARDENS.
PRACTICAL WORK IN HORTICULTURE
IN WASHINGTON SCHOOLS.

PRACTICAL WORK IN HORTICULTURE
IN WASHINGTON SCHOOLS.
One Hundred and Twenty of the 124
Graded schools Have Practical In
struction In the Improvement of
school Grounds and In school GAR
dens.
Especial Correspondence
The necessity of educating children
in the cultivation of the soil has been
apparent to the secretary of agricul-
ture for long time. He is untiring in
his efforts to further it. Trained teach
ers are necessary to accomplish 1t, SO
with the hearty consent of the secre-
tary DR.. B. T. Galloway, chief of the
bureau of plant industry, has placed at
the command of both the white and
colored normal schools of the District
of Columbia such facilities as are nee
essary to give an elementary training
in horticulture and agriculture. BY
thus inspiring the young teachers its fu-
ture in the education of the young Is
assured. During the last three years
the work has grown from a greenhouse
by 10 feet and strip of land for
garden purposes 10 by 800 feet to a
greenhouse rs by 100 feet and garden
Of an acre and a quarter The depart
ment of agriculture furnishes the op-
portunity for the work and the schools
the teachers. Two hundred and ten
students are in the classes this year.
Each one of these students is thus pre-
pared to teach the subject in the city
schools. During the fall the students
propagate plants from cuttings for the
winter schoolroom and the spring gar
den, plant bulbs outdoors and for win
seeds.
During the winter by simple expert
ments that may be performed in any
schoolrOom the students learn Of the
kinds Of soil, the water holding power
OF soils and means of altering such
power, conservation Of water and plant
physiology.
As spring approaches experiments in
termination seed testing and seed
planting follow, as well as planning
home gardens, gardens around school
buildings and vacation gardens. At
this season of the year, too, the work
broadens. 1t leaves the confines Of
the normal schools and takes in all Of
the public schools In the city. Arrange
ments are made with one Of the local
seedsmen to sell penny packages Of
seed to the children for home planting.
Many of the older teachers are not
trained, so to aid them the board Of
education, through one Of the normal
schools, issues sheets of simple in.
structiOns to aid the children to cor
rectly plan, plant and care for the
home garden. They are encouraged to
care for the garden during the summer
and to bring something they have rails.
ed wholly by themselves to the flower
show in the fall. 1t may be growing
plant, bunch OF flowers or a bottle OF
seed.
Flower day is an established feature
of Washington schools. On the Goth
of last September every school in tho
District of Columbia invited the public
to its exhibit. All buildings were oper
until dark, and where the buildings
were lighted they were open through
out the evening The throngs of PEG
pie who visited the schools gave suf
ficient proof of the appreciation of the
public for the movement.
Civic Improvement is thus encouraged
|. and also by school ground improve.
ment. Three years ago there was but
one garden connected with schools ia
the District. Last year 100 of the 124
graded schools made an effort to i'm,
prove their surroundings. The teach
ers are urged to relate whatever is
done outdoors to the subjects taught
In the schoolrOoms. Skillful teachers
relate geography, arithmetic, spelling,
composition, literature, drawing and
design to the garden.
The latest encouragement given by
the department has been the offer to
the board of education of more than
an acre of lawn to be used for chill
dren's gardens. The board has accept
ed the offer and will put the first six
grades of school In the vicinity to
work upon IT. Each school will spend
an afternoon week In the garden I'M
der the regular grade teacher, who will
be instructed from the normal school
She will be expected to relate the work
closely to the regular schoolroom work
The time spent in the garden will be
a part of school time and not after
hours, as has been so frequently done
before, thus making an added burdeI
on the teacher. Each child will have
a plot entirely his own, varying in size
according to his ability. Beside these
individual plots there will be plots ter
feet square of grains forage crops and
important local products for observa'
ton purposes.
The garden will be under the imme.
diate care of the normal school during