New-York tribune., 1909-06-06
BELLEVUES GARDEN
RETTER THIN MEDICINE.
Where Little ConSump ptiUes Cutt'Udte
FLosgers and Vegetables.

Somehow people have come to associate belieNte
T5ospstal with alcoholic and insane wards ana all
the interesting things that the hospital Goes ma
scarcely disturbed the popular impression bu.
once inside the grounds it is impossible TO Ihlnk Vi
th.se srevsonle things The attention OF the Nsl''i
tx NOR. likely to be attracted by the tuberculosis
camp at the edge of the river and the new gardeu
where child patients are going to pull "eeos 'nis
summer learn from the plants now ihpol
IL is to have plenty of sunshine and tresh ar Il
they want their bodies to grow strong and beauIl-
full The garden is a tiny plot, about fifty 1eet oy
sixty but it has great possibilities, and "heh ule
city decides to Bellevue have hospital for Ioe
treatment of surgical tuberculosis at SuhSiue a
there Will certainly be much larger Adii i0' ~
children there.
Rellevue Hospital has been a pioneer in goo1
many lines, and so far anybody seems 10 know
its garden for tuberculosis children Is the hrst Oh
the kind in this country. DR.. Jonn W. f'allll'r
nr~sident of the board of trustees of the hospital
has been enthusiastic about it ever since Mrs
Henry Parsons. Of the International Children S
School Farm League, suggested to MN III fep-
-1,arv that farm would be an excellent thlnS lor
little consurnptives. He needed no argument to
convince him Of the wisdom of the plan. Nelther
did Or James Alexander Miller, director of the
Bellevue tuberculosis clinic and as the woman 5
auxiliary of the clinic Of which Miss BIanche FoI-
ter is chairman willing to pay the salary Oh d
teacher the board OF trustees cheerfuily noorSeo
the plan.
The only available piece of ground was then occu-
pied by a rubbish heap. The hospital had been IN
the habit of burning its refuse here but thls tp-
| araton has to be carried on elsewhere nov" Al
the rubbish has been cleared away, the ground mas
| ba.n excaveted and filed in with fresh earth, and
| the space has been divided into a score OF niue
| vegetable beds, with border OF bIoonlhS BeIa-
| NUNS and other flowers, while at the BACK are
| some quick growing vines which VIII soon convert
/ the treIiswork into hedge. All this is great
Improvement sthetically. If it were nothing more
and the children have been greatly interested IN
1 the transformation.
| There are not nearly enough gardens to 60 round
| for there are only twenty vegetable gardens ana
| ten flower gardens and there fifty children on
the roll so the nurse in charge OF the camp has
been obliged to make the gardens reward OF
| merit But each child hopes that some other VIII
drop out and give him or her a chance. Ihey
Ike the vegetable gardens best. because they have
been told shat they may take the vegetables nome
| when they are grown The flowers cannot be re-
| moved From this point Of view the product Is
the raison detre OF a garden. Its educational ana
hygienic value enter into their consldeFa-
ton
The hospital looks upon the garden as part OF the
opeu air school which It carries on for two hours
| every day. and DR.. Brannan is particularly inter
| ested in the educational side of the experiment
| The teacher comes every day and draws all sorts
| of useful analyses between the life OF plants ana
| the life OF little boys and girls.
| The tuberculosis camp is board a boat, the
old southheld. which used TO 10 Staten lsin nd
and was acquired by the city when II took over
the Staten Island ferry It is moored close 10 me
| shore and is used both a day and nleh'
camp but the children stay there only in the day
time They have their school for two hours every
| morning on the forward deck, and no matter wiat
the weather is they think Of going indoors
| With their blankets and foot warmers theN DID de-
fance TO the weather and seem 10 IKE tEeH SSl'''
| better than the ordinary kind
| There are many other things too, about the
| camp which they ike better than anything they
| have ever known before. They get flowers in sum
| mer and Christmas presents in winter and plenty
Of good food all the time and their little bod IS
i'll cut and their cheeks get rosy they get so happy
that If they gave verbal expression TO their feel
| ings they would probably exclaim, as one h'te
| girl did "Ain't il grand 10 have cough