NATURE-STUDY AND GARDENING, ETC. 141 



room of the school, and the plots are its black-boards. The garden 

 is not an innovation, nor an excrescence, nor an addendum, nor a diver- 

 sion; it is a happy field of expression, an organic part of the school in 

 which the boys and girls work among growing things and grow them- 

 selves in body and mind and spiritual outlook. 



The true relation of the garden to the school has been in good part 

 established by the travelling instructors whom Professor Robertson 

 appointed to supervise the work in each province." 



NATURE-STUDY AND GARDENING FOR INDIAN SCHOOLS 



A pamphlet of instructions recently sent out by Superintendent 

 Estelle Reel of the Office of Indian Schools outlines primary methods 

 for use of teachers and urges upon agents and local superintendents 

 the importance of nature-study and gardening for Indian pupils. 



" In view of the fact that a majority of Indian children have land 

 and are accustomed to out-of-door life, it is of paramount importance 

 that they be given instruction that will combine physical training and 

 recreation in the open air and at the same time educate them to see 

 the possibilities in their land, and give them practical knowledge that 

 will enable them to obtain the most lucrative results from its cultiva- 

 tion Instruction in nature-study should be taken up when 



pupils first enter school and be made the basis for writing, language, 



and number work Instruction in nature-study should comprise 



facts and principles that will be useful to pupils on the farm and in 

 the home garden. It should include the germination of seeds, the 

 important parts of plants and the usefulness of these plants to man ; 

 how plants grow and develop ; the names of the vegetables of the 

 locality : the relation of soil, water, air, heat, and plant food to plant 

 growth, and the means to be employed in checking the ravages of 

 injurious insects." 



Directions for simple experiments on germination, effect of moisture, 

 heat, depth of planting, and kind of soil ; and directions for gardening 

 make up the pamphlet. Since the pupils know little or no English, 

 the work is necessarily very elementary. But so far as it goes it is 

 very practical. 



Concerning the garden work the following extracts are of general 

 interest even to those who have no connection with the special schools 

 for which the directions are given. 



"Instruction in gardening should occupy an important place in 

 Indian -school work, and special efforts should be put forth by the 



