258 NATURE STUDY REVIEW [9:8— Nov., 1913 



starvation, in the end they were all forced to abandon their farms 

 and their homes, and penniless, to drift to other regions and 

 start anew. 



What was the cause of this calamity to a whole people ? Was it 

 through fault of the land itself ? Not at all ; this very region today 

 supports a prosperous multitude. Was it through lack of energy? 

 These men worked with desperation. Was it through lack of 

 enthusiasm or faith in the country ? Every one had staked his all 

 on his belief in the land. Was it through lack of nimibers or con- 

 certed effort? The advertising given it in advance by ignorant 

 enthusiasts and interested agents had peopled every farm. 



What then? Just one thing, lack of knowledge. Neither their 

 energy nor their enthusiasm, nor their numbers, nor the inherent 

 qualities of the land availed them in the least so long as they lacked 

 the specific knowledge of what kinds of crops to plant and how to 

 cultivate them. 



And now comes the rising tide of garden-work for the child, just 

 as a decade ago rose the nature-study wave. What is the peril 

 which threatens it, which even now is in evidence? 



If the Garden-movement had a voice it would cry aloud — "Save 

 me from the enthusiast who cries 'plant, plant' but who knows not 

 how to ensure the crop!" 



It matters not how energetic, nor how enthusiastic, nor how 

 numerous we may be, nor how inherently valuable gardening is for 

 the child, we shall be forced to endure the humiliation of seeing it 

 fail and the sorrow of seeing its opportunities withdrawn from 

 children, if we do not provide that its introduction be under the 

 guidance of those who have the specific detailed knowledge neces- 

 sary to produce a satisfactory harvest. 



The first step, therefore, in the safe development of the garden- 

 movement is the obtaining of practically trained advisers for the 

 child's garden, experts who are able to see to it, that the work of the 

 child shall bring him a profitable return and not a disheartening 

 failure. 



The school-garden-movement takes two forms at present, the 

 making of community gardens, where land is divided into adjacent 

 plots, and home gardens where the child has his individual plot in 

 his own yard. In Cincinnati both phases are being developed, but 

 much the larger emphasis is now being placed upon the home 

 garden. It is quite obvious that the successful progress of home 



