"Cbc Conservative.
that is out of the range of the child's
sympathies , but it should bo supple
mented by experimental work , as
much experimental work as can be ar
ranged for. The schools should give
to their pupils the desire and ability
to create beautiful homes from the
fertile prairies of Nebraska.
School Grounds.
The first efforts of an active , ac
tual nature-study in the rural schools
of Nebraska should bo expended on
the school grounds. They are need
ing it badly. To make the schools
more attractive and inviting might be
done without purchasing expensive
apparatus , as some liberal but mis
guided school boards have done afore
time in Nebraska.
If the teachers would expend a
little energy and direct considerably
more the school grounds might have
trees , shrubs and vines , and the chil
dren might have individual flower
gardens. The shrubbery , trees and
flower gardens would furnish material
for school-room work and they would
exert an influence on the development
of the children that we can not esti
mate. I do not think that the play
grounds should be cluttered up with
flower beds. That would be decora
tion in the wrong place.
Another good feature of the school
flower gardens is the fact that their
influence spreads. They react favor
ably on the homes. Flowers are one
of the possible compensations of rural
life , but they are not utilized very
much.
The individual flower garden is not
an educational innovation. Froeble
advocated individual flower gardens
for the kindergartens. Many kinder
gartens use the flower gardens in an
educative way , but the great majority
do not.
At Pipes tone , Minn.
Where there is enough available
laud each child should have his own
garden and be held responsible for it.
While at Pipestone , Minnesota , I had
a series of school gardens. Each child
at the school was given the privilege
of having a flower garden and I took
charge of the boys and their flower
gardens. They might take a gardener
or not , just as they pleased , but once
taken they would be required to keep
it in good order. That was the under
standing. Of the fifty-two boys in
school , forty-five took flower beds and
my own flower bed made forty-six
separate flower beds. They ran along
the side of the boys' play-ground and
bordered the walk leading out to the
road.
We started in with three kinds of
seed , sweet peas , nasturtiums and
pinks , contributed by the superintend
ent and a prize colletion that I sent
for. Later on wo received contribu
tions from the other gardens of pansies
and' phloar and petunias. At the
considerable supervision was neces
sary and' for some of the boys supervi
sion was always needed , but the ma
jority required very little urging to
keep their gardens in the best of
shape. They all needed a great deal
of teaching , as they knew nothing at
all about putting out flower gardens
and very little about vegetable gar
dens. I succeeded best when I took
them out in groups and showed them
exactly how to do the work , but even
that did not prevent some very comical
blunders.
One evening I took out a squad of
little boys and showed them how to
make sprinklers out of old fruit cans ;
then we carried out the pails of water
and each one sprinkled his garden.
' ' Now , ' ' said I , ' ' every evening at
this time you come out and sprinkle
the'gardens just as we did this even
ing. " So every evening after that
they carried out the pails of water and
with the home-made sprinklers
watered their little gardens.
In a few days there came a heavy
rain , so heavy that the water stood on
the ground in little puddles. When
the pour-down had ceased the small
squad went out as usual with the
pails of water and sprinkled their
gardens to the intense amusement of
the older boys , who knew why a
garden was sprinkled.
School closed the last of June.
Before I left for my vacation we all
went out and removed every weed in
sight and hoed the gardens. In the
evening I gave them careful and ear
nest instructions about the care of the
gardens during my absence. I thought
they would forget , but they .didn't.
When I returned in August those
forty-six flower beds were one mass
of bloom , beautiful to see. They
saved their own flower seed and the
follo'wing spring several of the-boys
sent off for different varieties. Dur
ing the winter they would often send
little packages of flower seed in the
letters to their parents.
Irrigation.
In north-western Montana , I learned
irrigation in a small way and taught
my pupils the possibilities of irriga
tion and a fertile soil in a number of
kitchen gardens. The children had
individual gardens and took the veget
ables home when they were fit for
use. That was the plan adopted and
followed as long as I remained there.
Before the vegetables were all
gathered the department transferred
me to Fort Lewis , Colorado. Here , I
have charge of the highest grades and
developing the principle of the school
garden still further , I endeavor to cor
relate the .school room work with the
industrial departments. The pupils
como from New Mexico and Arizona.
Whore irrigation is possible , fruit is
grown very sucessfully in these two
territories.
I teach my pupils how to put out ,
cultivate and care for an orchard , and
to the best of my ability I give them
a yearning to have an orchard of
their own. At our present elevation
it is not possible to have an orchard
and it is useless to purchase and set
out trees. The instruction is inade
quate to that extent , but unavoidably
so.
so.When I went back to Clark Univer
sity this summer , I was quite surprised
to learn that my work in school gar
dens was quite in the line of the best
nature-study. For myself I discovered
the educational value of school gar
dens , but it wasn't a real discovery ,
for others had used it before , and
even now it is used quite extensively
as an adjunct to the literary work of
the school room in the eastern states.
The school garden is the logical
result of active , actual nature-study.
It is much better than the out-of-door
excursions practiced by some city
schools. The quality of the educa
tion is much superior and it is easier
to control the children. In Worcester ,
Mass. , Dr. Hedge has inaugurated
the school garden and it works beauti
fully. He teaches them to make suit
able provision for birds and thus
bring the birds close enough for study.
I think he said that they gave prizes
for the best flowers.
There are other school gardens in
the eastern states , and in Europe there
are many school gardens that have
been used for years. Some of these
gardens are purely botanical and these
are generally cared for by a gardener ;
others are purely economical and in
these the pupils are taught practical
horticulture , and they , with the
teachers , do most of the work. There
are other gardens that combine the
economical and botanical features.
Conditions in Nebraska.
Under existing conditions , the
Nebraska rural and village schools
might have beautiful school grounds
and the pupils might have individual
flower cardens. That would be a
worthy work , but Nebraska might
do even better than that. She has
opportunity unsurpassed in the matter
of school gardens , and their use in
teaching the fundamental principles
of agriculture.
Two or three acres of land adjoining
the school grounds might be purchased
and set apart for the use of the school.
That would make a splendid school
garden and in it might bo planted ,
cultivated and studied , forest trees ,
fruit trees , grapes , small fruits and
flowers. Provision should bo made
for the birds so they might come to
the garden and be studied there.
The school garden should have a