9 o THE NA TURE-S TUD Y RE VIE IV [ 2 : 3 -march, 1906 



from their efforts, while the reaction upon the children and indirectly 

 upon the parents would certainly be a great educational gain. 



Children, after a little practice, can bud and graft trees quite as 

 skillfully as the average nurseryman. I have noticed that the ability 

 to do this comes to them as a revelation, and they immediately begin 

 to try improving the fruit at home. Bulletins are sent for and read 

 with interest and pleasure and the parents themselves become inter- 

 ested. 



I have only time to suggest a few lines of work by way of illustra- 

 tion, worth while in themselves, that might be undertaken : (1) 

 There are many things that the entomologist of the State University 

 would like to know ; for example, the grasshoppers often totally des- 

 troy the vegetation in certain regions, and nobody seems to think of 

 the grasshoppers until they have reached that stage in their develop- 

 ment where man's efforts are practically futile against their ravages. 

 Suppose the children knew the life-history of these insects, where 

 they breed, etc., and could give warning in time for the insects to be 

 confined to their breeding grounds. If this had been done in the 

 spring of this year enough money would have been saved to more 

 than pay all the school expenses of these grasshopper-infested regions. 

 (2) Children are naturally interested in birds. The study of the 

 feeding habits of birds, and planting trees and shrubs in the school- 

 yard where birds may come for food and shelter would be an object 

 lesson to the fruit grower who seeks to protect his fruit by destroying 

 the birds. (3) This experience in planting and caring for trees 

 would at the same time not only make the yards more attractive but 

 introduce a subject which is of most vital interest to every Californian, 

 forestry. (4) Testing soils and making soil surveys ; methods of 

 irrigation ; the selection of useful varieties of plants adapted to the 

 locality of the school ; and many other lines of work might be men- 

 tioned. I have suggested enough to indicate what I mean by school- 

 gardening as applied to rural schools. But there are other things 

 involved in the work : Government and State publications will have 

 to be written for and read ; records will have to be made and con- 

 sulted ; various practical uses of arithmetic will have to be made ; 

 maps and drawings must be employed ; all this and more is necessary 

 to make the work a success. Throughout all, there is this greatest 

 of incentives for endeavor, helping in a great and valuable world work. 



These possibilities are not imaginary. Enough has already been 

 done (e. g. in certain districts in Canada and other places) to show 



