The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1914-03-02

the year to teach elementary sci
ence in school and direct the home
garden work after school, on Sat
urdays, and during the summer va
cation.
"Of the 100000 children be
tween the ages of and 20 in tn,
cities, towns, manufacturing villages
and suburban communities of the
United States" says DR.. ClaXton
mot more than 10 per cent are
away from home during the sum.
mer vacation or engaged in regular
employment. The remaining So pei
cent remain at home without any
useful, healthful, productive occu
patton requiring any large part OF
their time. On the other hand
there is much valuable land in
i back yards and vacant lots that is
serving no useful purpose. The
problem is to bring this land and
these children together.
"In every school and community
there should be at least one teach
er who knows gardening, both theo-
retically and practically. This teach
er should teach the elementary
science in the schools during the
school hours and should, out of
school hours, direct the home gar
dening of the children between rne
ages of q or s and II to l.. If
possible the teacher should have the
assistance of an expert gardener,
so that the work may be done in
the most practical and profitable
way. The teacher and the garden
er should help the children find
the lots of ground in back yards,
front yards, and vacant lots near
their homes best suited for gar
dening work, aid them by some CO.
operative method to have the lots
properly plowed ana prepared for
cultivation, help them select seeds,
show them how to plant, cultivate,
and harvest, so as to obtain the
best results.
vegetables, berries, and fruits
grown should be used first as food
for the children and their families
then the surplus should be market
ed to the best advantage. Through
the help of the teacher this can be
done in a CO. Operative way. Ten
or fifteen cents worth of vegetables
each day from the gardens of each
of 200 children would amount to
500 or $50. In the summer and
fall when the surplus is large and
cannct be marketed TO advantage,
the teacher should direct and help
the children in canning and pre-
serving for winter use CT for sale.
The canning and tomato clubs of
the southern states have already
shown what can be done in this
way.
1T is difficult TO estimate the re-
suits cf this plan when it shall be
in full operation throughout the
country. For the children it will
mean health, strength, joy in work,
habits of industry, an understand
ng of the value of money, as meas
ired in terms of labor, and such
knowledge of the phenomena and
crces of nature as must be had for
IN understanding Of most of their
school lessons. They will also
earn something at least of the
principle of morality;
hat each individual must make his
,r her own living; must, by some
lind of labor of head, hand, or !
leart, contribute to the common
wealth as much as he takes from |
t; must pay for what he gets in
ome kind of coin. !
This plan in full operation would
do more toward keeping
oung children out of the factories =
nd mills than all of the childlabor
avs on the statute books. A boy
0 or II years of age, with a quar-
er acre of land, working under
areful direction, can produce more a
or the support of the family than A
ould be purchased with the child's
ages from the mill Children
hould not be ground in the mills
r sweated in the factories; their 4
trength should not be sapped and 4
heir nerves racked by working in \
he heat and dust of indoors, yet =
Il children should learn to work; =
is good for them and they joy
/ it. To work with its feet IN I
ne soil, its head in the sunshine, :
nd its lutgs filled with good fresh
ir is not bad thing for any
IL.