LANTis] CRITICISM OF SCHOOL GARDEN METHODS 189 



Do not misunderstand me, I appreciate the good work done in 

 these gardens. It is excellent as far as it goes, but it does not go 

 far enough. From the very nature of a school garden, it is not 

 possible to allow the children much freedom. In other words 

 there must be something to supplement the School Garden if 

 Plant Culture is to be a permanent interest with many of the 

 children. Again, the Home Garden helps us to solve the difficulty. 



In our School-Home Gardens in Cincinnati, the child will be 

 encouraged to grow a patch of vegetables, but by no means will 

 this be all. He will also be advised to grow some of the pretty 

 annuals as alyssum, phlox, verbenas, scabiosa, scarlet sage, 

 snap dragon, and a whole host of others. He will also be advised 

 to grow many of our pretty hardies, as chrysanthemums, irises, 

 paeonies and others, also dahlias, cannas, and other tuberous 

 rooted plants. Of course these will be grown from seeds, not 

 alone because of the cost, but because of the pleastu-e obtained, 

 the interest aroused and the training acquired from the work. 

 Again he will be encotuaged to grow, from seeds or cuttings, 

 certain of the shrubs as spireas, lilacs, snowballs, golden bells, 

 roses, California Privet, and others. Also certain of our hardy 

 climbers as ivv\ clematis, honeysuckle, wistaria, and others. 

 He will also be advised to grow trees, from seeds, as oak, walnut, 

 catalpa, sweet gum, linden and others. Of course the inspectors 

 will advise the child as to which plants are adapted to the condi- 

 tions, to which the plants will be subjected, and likewise will 

 advise him not to try those which for some reason are not suited 

 to the place. Under the direction of the trained inspector the 

 child will be encouraged to attempt the propagation of plants new 

 to him, and yet plants which are useful in adorning the lawn, or 

 useful for some other purpose. Nor will the child be discouraged 

 in trying an experiment just to satisfy his curiosity as long as the 

 experiment does not seriously affect the other garden operations. 



Most certainly the little child will not be encouraged to try 

 all this the first year. For his first year in the garden, he will be 

 encotiraged to grow radishes, beets, beans, and or course carrots, 

 together with such flowers, as four-o-clocks, nasturtiums and 

 lady slippers. The second year, besides the above, others may 

 be added which involve the operation of transplanting. Another 

 year, some of the easier grown plants may be omitted from the 

 list and others added. By the age of 12-14, the child should 



