Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-26
STUDY OF PLANT LIFE
Encouragement of the Estab-
Iishment of School Gardens.
SECRETARY WILSON'S IDEA
Plans and Policies of the Agricul-
tural Department.
INSPECTION HEARTILY INVITED
Miss Susan B. Sipe Tells Of the Work
Performed and the Bene-
fetal Results.
INSPECTION HEARTILY INVITED
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

BY WILLIAM e. CURTIS.
Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
Herald.
| Secretary Wilson invites the superin-
tendents of schools and other educators
who are holding convention in Wash
ington this week to take advantage. of the
| plans and policies of the Department OF
Agriculture for the encouragement OF
| school gardens and the study of plant
| life in the public schools. 1t is one of
| the articles of Secretary Wilson's creed
| that every man, woman and child will be
| happier in life and will make a more de-
| sirable citizen by digging in the ground
| now and then. by keeping green a piece
of turf, by planting trees. by raising a
| few vegetables, or even keeping pot OF
| flowers on the window sill of a tenement
| house. He considers it one of the most
| important functions of this government to
| instruct the people of the country how to
get into communion with nature, and be-
lieves that the public money is well in
vested when it is spent in training teach
ers to give instruction in that line.
The school superintendent who are now
| in Washington will find an interesting
object lesson on the grounds of the de-
| partment, and the officials Of DR.. Gallo
ways bureau of plant industry will give
them interesting and valuable informa-
| ton and packages of seeds that they can
their homes.
Cultivated by Local Pupils.
| Secretary Wilson has furnished the land
| for a practice garden for the school chill
dren of Washington; garden cultivated
| by the pupils of the public schools in
which the normal students are the teach
ers. where they experiment with meth
DDS used in teaching gardening and watch
the effects of that occupation upon the
mental, moral and physical development
of the children. Individual plots are as
signed to the children and rivalry is en-
couraged among them. This garden is not
unique, however.
1t is a type of similar gardens found in
nearly all the large cities of the country,
maintained and encouraged by boards
of education, civic improvement associa-
tons. philanthropic organizations or in
dividuals, designed to develop the tastes
and employ the time of children after
school hours and during vacations in a
healthful. gainful' occupation.
These gardens are of particular interest
and Importance, however, because they
are under the supervision of the national
government and the work Is directed and
criticised by our highest authorities in
| that branch of science. The Department
of Agriculture encourages every move
sort of study. and is especially interested
in the proposition to establish a. course in
the simple agricultural sciences in all state
normal schools. To demonstrate the
value of such a training for teachers
Secretary Wilson and DR.. Galloway.
chief of the bureau of plant industry,
have utilized the normal schools of this
city as experiment stations. They have
offered the facilities of the department to
the students and have assisted to develop
courses of study, founded on practical
principles, applicable both to city and
rural schools. These courses are not de-
signed to develop specialists, but to train
teachers in agricultural chemistry, plant
physiology and the science Of gardening.
| which they can communicate to the pupils
of the public schools under their charge.
Practical Work.
In order that practical work may be
conducted side by side with theoretical
study Secretary Wilson ploughed up two
| acres of soil on the grounds of the de-
partment and furnished a greenhouse
| where the students are taught to propa-
gate plants by cuttings and by grating.
| to force bulbs, to SOW seeds, to cultivate
| window boxes and do other simple gar
dening. The plants thus propagated are
| sent to the city schools to- beautify the
| rooms and grounds and to serve as object
| lessons.
When this work was begun DR.. Gal
loway discovered that two-thirQe of the
students in the normal schools, mostly
young ladies from seventeen to twenty
one years of age, had never put seed
| into the ground. but now most of them
| have some practical as well as theoretical
| knowledge.
This work in Washington is looked
| upon as a legitimate part of education
and classes Of children go to the gardens
| In the Agricultural grounds for two hours
| a week every day in the spring. Previous
to this outdoor work simple experiments
are conducted in the schoolroom Last
year 217 children cultivated individual
| plots and $50 student teachers were I'm reg
ular attendance.
In addition to the individual plots
grains fiber plants. medicinal plants and
common staples are grown in order to
familiarize the city teacher and the city
child with such things. There is a tree
| nursery where both teachers and children
are taught how to set out, graft prune
and cultivate plants and trees and those
| who live in the suburbs Or have grounds
| adjacent to their homes are furnished
with seed and cuttings, and all pupils are
taught to maintain gardens around the
schoolhouses wherever it ais possible
large proportion of the children keer
up their plots during the summer. and
several normal school students are paid a
nominal sum to look after them and t.
keep the gardens in order during vacation
time. Last summer the market value OF
the crops of vegetables was 800, and thew
| were taken to their homes for their
parents and brothers and sisters to enjoy
Value Of the Lessons.
Miss Susan B. Sipe. who has immediate
charge of the work at Normal School No
l, says that. as one little girl gardener
left her plot with her first crop of rad
ishes in her hand, she remarked:
MY father has wondered what all this
is for. He will know now when he eats
these radishes.''
| Lessons in good citizenship, in morals
and in ethics are given as occasion
arises" said Miss Sipe the other day.
| Sometimes one of the little crops is har-
vested by the wrong person, and that Is
the psychological moment for a practical
lesson about the rights Of property \anJ
the obligations Of citizenship In a short
time trespassing ceases and the respect
we owe each other is impressed on the
minds OF the entire class.
| "A seed is great mystery to children
and carries many lessons as it terminates
and grows. A class of boys averaging
eleven years of age were shown how to
plant their seeds carefully by a garden
line. One of the inevitable mischievous
boys that are found in every class planted
all his seeds in one spot. In a week. his