The Washington herald., 1907-04-22
Head of Agriculture on Ar
Dor Day Programme.
SPECIAL EXERCISES TODAY
Celebration of Aid Given by Can
gress Arranged by schools for This
AfternoOu-nr. Galloway and Com
missioner AIaefarIand WIN Also
speak-History of the Work.

/ ArbOr Day IN the han OF the FRANKLIN
/ School The celebration will be held for
/ the purpose of showing the general ap-
| probation of the appropriation by the
last Congress for school gardens ana 10
arouse enthusiasm among the normal,
( high, and graded school students in the
work DR.. B. +. Galloway, chief of the
| Bureau OF Plant Industry. Department
/ Of Agriculture, who has lent material aid
TO the school gardens, viii speak of the
/ interest of the department in the work,
! and Commissioner Macfarland viii speak
Of the interest Of the District officials
and citizens in this practical work TO en-
! courage civic pride among children.
Mrs. Justina r. Hin. Of the board Of eda-
cation. chairman of the school garden
committee. viii preside. The student body
will show its appreciation OF Secretary
1 Wilson's visit by singing a number OF
! Scotch songs, under the leadership OF
/ Miss Alys Bentley, director OF music of
/ the local public schools. Invitations have
/ been extended by the school TO the school
| officials, the board of education. principals
Of high schools and special departments.
and parents.
]
! School gardens We're started in Wash
/ ington four years ago by Normal School
No. L Though quite behind many of the
/ large cities in introducing them, IL has
made such rapid strides through the aid
/ Of the Department Of Agriculture
/ that II is now known throughout the
educational world for its success in teach
I ing a practical form Of nature study and
/ encouraging civic pride among children.
/ Up to the present time the work has been
cooperative between the Department OF
/ Agriculture and the normal schools. Ehe
department has considered these schools
as experiment stations, where the move
( msnt could be studied and its value meas
ured.
The last report OF the horticultural
shows that all States Of the Union but
! Woodworking and IdRhO-are introduc-
/ ing the study Of elementary agriculture
and horticulture. under the name OF school
/ gardening. into their public schools Much
Of this is the result of the work in Wash
/ ingtOn as the department has felt fully
justified through the way Washington
/ schools have handled the work in advis-
/ ing and aiding schools elsewhere. Dr.
/ Galloway has been the chief promoter Of
the ides.
Both normal schools have been fur
nished with greenhouses three acres Of
/ land. approximately. have been set aside
for their use, and grass, flower and vege-
/ table seeds. shrubbery and hedge plants
! have been furnished abuHdantly The
| hope is that normal schools throughout
the country win, in the future, have
required course in gardening as the
/ teachers must know the subject before
/ they can arouse interest in their students
/ Three distinct movements have been IN
EdeTtaken In this city-the Improvement of
the school grounds. home gardens, and
the gardens of Individual plots, which re-
quire large tracts Of land where children
are taught the simple principles Of plant
culture.
school Ground Improvement.
The Franklin School in which are the
administrative Offices; the Normal School.
with its practice schools. and a number
OF higher grades, four years ago was en-
tireiy out Of harmony with the neighbo--
hood in which il is located The yard was
barren Of any green things.
plan of improvement was drawn
by one OF the Normal students and
/ each grade was assigned a portion of
| the garden, and was held strictly re-
| sponsible for its appearance. During the
summer the children returned 10 school.
and under the direction Of some of the
! teachers moved the lawn and cultivated
/ the garden, The superintendent OF
/ Schools at that time, Alexander T. Stuart
used this garden as an object lesson. and
/ urged the teachers throughout the city TO
! follow the example. So much interest was
| shown By Mr.. Stuart that at the close of
! his service every graded school in the
/ District that had any space available
had made an effort toward civic improve
/ ment.
No Effort at Decoration.
The high schools have endeavored to
keep the lawns attractive, but there has
/ been no effort at decoration, except at
the Western. where Miss westcott has
supervised bulb planting in the fall. seed
planting in the spring. and aroused much
enthusiasm in some of the classes in re-
moving dandelions from the lawn.
| Last year Secretary Wilson. ordered a
large tract-abOut two acres of lawn-on
/ the grounds of the Department of Agricul-
1 ture 10 be plOwed for the use Of the chill
/ dren of the Bradley and Jefferson schools.
! This tract is on 3 street north, be-
1 tween Twelfth and Thirteenth streets
About 800 children profited by this work
/ This year a change in plans reduces this
number somewhat, Plots for go have
/ been staked of The work began the 1st
/ Of April in the schoolrooms with a line
of simple experiments that wifi teach the
/ principles Of soil preparation, cultivation,
] and plant growth. The children, by this
means, work intellgently outdoors. The
/ larger part OF each plot is planted with
/ vegetables. Succession of crops and crop
! rotation are taught. Whatever a child
/ raises belongs to him, to do with as he
/ pleases.
! Few Of them sell their products as they
/ are encouraged 10 share the pleasures of
/ their labors with their parents. At the
1 close of school the work has been volun-
/ tary. The gra tifying attendance through
/ out the summer Is the only way those in
/ terested in its success have of Judging its
/ popularity. together with the great de-
mand for gardens in the spring, and the
large waiting list Of summer applicants.
VIII BE Continued.
This is the form of garden to which
most Of the appropriation made by Con
gress will be devoted The department
I garden will be continued. Two more have
been laid off in the division in which
Elliott Kramer is supervising principal
one at the Blow School and one at Fiji
teenth and Gale streets northeast for the
Pierce and Webb schools. These viii ac-
commodate about two hundred children.
The adYisabillty Of utilizing space at the
Craneh annex is being considered
In the cclored schools there has been
much difficulty in securing fenced land.
AT present there is but one site, and that