Pioneer press. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1882-19??, 1916-05-13
SCHOOL GARDEN
WORK IN EUROPE:
Johann Hepp Tells How the European
People Have Encouraged
School GARDENING.

| The following Is an extract from
an article by Johann Hepp in the
| October 1915) number Of Monatshef
| tie fur den naturwiss enschaftlicher
Unterrcht, under the title "Schoo'
! Gardens in Zurich" The origina,
text brings out in a forceful way the
value Of school gardens and how
they have served the people of Zur
ich. The people Of Europe have long
encouraged school gardening, and
throughout Germany and other coun.
tries special attention has recently
been given to the work The writer
says:
How fortunate is the country
child VIII can take direct part in
the full swing Of work and hustle
Of the farm life. House and yard
gardens and vineyards, fields and tor
ests, offer numberless opportunities
for healthy, useful. interesting and
diversified occupations in which
child can be employed Through
these occupations the child becomes
closely acquainted with nature in. all
it's profuseness of farms and prod
ucts. He will learn to organize his
efforts in unison with the powerful
throb Of the community life. He vii.
acquire the priceless treasure of
good habits and moral power, and
thus, by the simplest and most nat,
ural process, will develop the ability
and inclination to work
THE city child has but fragmentarv
conception Of natures life. The city
offers no visual example or stimu-
latiOn for work. because actual work
is done in the Interiors Of shops and
business establishments The family
in the city is not productive CEN.
munity any more; it has been trans
formed into a consuming unit The
city children become familiar with
ready-made products without rcaliz.
ing by what processes and Of what
materials they were made 1t remains
obscure to them how much time and
toll 1t costs to make q living, and
now much work is required to pro-
duce articles of food and other nee.
esSities of life
I'm educational circles this defici
ency Of city conditions in respect to
education in work has been recogn!z-
ed long ago. AS remedial measure,
manuel training was introduced into
city schools. Through it the children
! exercise the eye and hand, learn to
| handle tools and raw materials-all
| by actual work. But no manuel train
ing possesses so much educational
value as garden work Gardening is
superior to Dasteboard, wood and
| iron work conducted within the mar
row limitations Of school shops be-
| cause it is done outdoors, in pure air
and sunlight, and brings the children
| into contact with nature. In Zurich,
| there is an association whose eXclu-
s1ve object is to establish and cen
duct school gardens on city grounds
and to develop through this means a
| healthy, Industrious, and morally
| sound race. Every pupil is given a
! plot Of land for whose planting and
cultivation he alone is responsible
| This little garden affords an admir-.
able field Of work and experimental
| ton where the child learns through
| his own labor and experience his
own failures and successes. There
he can dig. SOW and plant, cultivate
and harvest: there he observes how
the plants sprout, grow, bloom and
| rlpen; how they protect themsalve:
| from animals and the inclemency OF
weather. and in what high degree
| their thriving is dependent upon the
memorable powers of nature, involv
ing at the same time the welfare OF
the gardener and the farmer, and III
timately, Of all mankind
| The man who can spare a little
time. after his tiresome professional
daily work to attend to his garden
and Hover beds, is fortunate indeed
This gives him a healthy exercise
and an enjoyable pastime. In large
cities, where every minute of time
and every power Of efficiency is util
lied for business purposes, the neces
sity Of diversion and free occupa
tons become imperative The work
performed for profit or for living has
no attractions. The more monoton
Gus becomes the work Of the individ
ual owing to the increasing division
Of manufacturing processes into ever
simpler manipulations the more i'm
portant and full Of meaning will free
occupation become. Leisure time
should be used with the view Of Civ
ing the senses and the soul a prooe,
nourishment that will enable the
man to recover his inner balance lost
during the hours Of toll. When this
opportunity is shut off, the powers