The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-02-25
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORMAL TON BUREAU
FREDERIC J. HASKIN, Director,
Washington, D. c.
SCHOOL GARDENS,

washington, ID. e, FeD. zZ.-lI
properly managed and supervised,
school gardens should add large guam
titles to the nations food supply this
year, according to ]. L. Randall, spe-
cialist in school and home gardening
of the United States bureau of educa-
ton.
There are five million children of
school age in this country" said Mr..
Randall. eff each child raised >!
worth of food. think what that would
mean. Five million dollars worth!
And it is not too much to expect eacn
child to raise $40 worth, for last year
many boys and girls earned as mucn
as $50 out of their gardens
From the national standpoint, or
course, the value of a childss garden
depends upon what is planted in IT.
A dollars worth of radishes obviously
would not play any important part in
winning the war, but if every child
plants vegetables that respond to the
canning process, and staples, such as
potatoes, beans and onions, he Will DE
doing his bit, in no insignificant way.
In realization of this fact, boards or
education in many communities winch
did not encourage school gardens last
year are doing all they can to promote
them this year. Teachers are attend
ing lectures in gardening in order that
they may direct the children to better
mentary sciences have been intro
duced into many school curricula, and
a new textbook has been adopted al
most overwhelmingly, the seed
catalog.
There is another reason for encour-
aging gardening among school chill
dren this year. If the experience of
Europe is duplicated in this country,
we may expect large increase in
juvenile delinquency during the war.
The general excitement occasioned by
state of war, the widespread en-
ployment of mothers. and the fact
that many children are left to take
care of themselves outside of school
hours are all cited by social workers
as causes that are already contrib
uting to an increase in juvenile court
records. Gardening appears to offer
a solution to this problem. There is
nothing like pulling weeds under a
hot sun, spading stubborn soil and
lighting innumerable insects-to say
nothing of the neighbors' dogs and
chickens and cats-to keep a child &C.
cupied and out of mischief.
For this social reason, rather than
the economic one, school gardens have
long been advocated by eminent edu-
Gators as one of the most important
practical features of school system
They are already established institu-
tons in over thousand American
communities. They are of three
types: The small plot which the
child works at school; the backyard
plot at home which he works under
the supervision of a visiting teacher
and the plot on the vacant lot, which
is also under the direction of the
school.
The supervising teacher is extreme
ly important to the success of such
gardens. She may be employed by
the local board of education, by a
citizens committee or by the cham
Der of commerce. In every COM
| munity," Mr.. Randall asserts, there
should be at least one teacher who
| knows gardening practically and
| theoretically. During school hours she
should teach elementary sciences in
the schools, and after school hours
she should visit children in their
homes and, with the help of a gar
dener employed for the purpose, su-
pervise garden Efforts
One of the best systems of school
gardens-one that should prove val
liable to other communities DESTROYS
of introducing gardening into their
schools this year-is that devised by
Mr.. Orchard Smith for EngleWood, n.
j. School gardens were started in
Englewood for the first time in the
spring OIL 1910. LII d OTleI ldlk TO the
children, Mr.. Smith told them that
| they were going to keep a detailed
record of what they grew and what II
cost, and that if the things. they grew
| were any good, they were going to sell
| them. In short, they were going to
| be farmers. Then he gave them reg
| iStration blanks to fill in.
The children who registered were
| organized into garden clubs, consist
/ ing each of about fifteen members of
| the same age and sex, and from the
same school Those children who had
backwards were to have their gardens
| at home; those who did not possess
backwards were to be provided with
plats on vacant lots. The school yard
was to be used for one large demon
| stration garden where practical gar
dening could be taught.
| Accompanied by the teacher, the
| children who were backyardlesS IN
| vestigated the available land in the
city, and finally decided upon two va
| cant lots Each of these was staked
| off into allotments of different sizes
| according to the requirements OF each
| child and around each plat path
was made, two and half feet wide
After a child was awarded this plat
he became responsible for it thruout
1 the rest of the season-for its spao'
| ing, planting, wedding and care II
! he neglected it, he was diSpoSseSsed.
In the months of strenuous tot
| that followed-for no really good gar
den is made without a backache ant
| tired muscles-no children had to b'
deprived of their lots, with the excep
| ton of one little boy whose colleague:
made it so unpleasant for him that-h
| had to abandon his career as farm
er. 1t was noticed that this lttl'
boy rarely worked in his garden. HI
was never to be seen planting any
thing. But when the proper tim
came his garden contained a larg'
number of plants, which his neigh
bors soon discovered had been trans
! nIanted from their own gardens.
After selecting their garden sites
the children were required to max
! dra wings of their Yardens