2i8 THE NATURE-STUDY KEl'IEW [i, 5. sept. 1905 



SCHOOL-GARDEN NOTES 



BY H. D. HEMENWAY 

 Director of Hartford School of Horticulture 



The United States Department of Agriculture is fostering a school- 

 garden enterprise connected with the Franklin Normal School in 

 Washington, D. C. The Department has given the use of one acre 

 of ground, and a small greenhouse has been turned over to the 

 teacher who has charge of the botany and garden work at the normal 

 school. 



Cleveland, Ohio, was the first city to distribute to the school chil- 

 dren seeds in one cent packages. More than 140,000 penny packages 

 were sold in 1904, and more than double that number in 1905. Forty 

 schools in the city exhibit the fruits of their gardens. 



The Courier of Evansville, Indiana, has given prizes for the 

 best flower gardens produced by school children. Also for the best 

 essay on " How a school boy or girl by home work can best improve 

 Evansville." 



The City Federation of Woman's Clubs of Saginaw, Mich., has 

 stimulated the children in school-garden work by giving a $25 banner 

 flasf to the school which showed the best results with the facilities 

 afforded them. This flag remains the property of the school winning 

 it for the year in which it is won, but will be put up for competition 

 each succeeding year. 



At Amherst, Mass., the experiment of the past two seasons of hav- 

 ing gardens for school children has been very successful. The chil- 

 dren paid one dollar each for their gardens, instruction, and seeds. 

 The gardens were 8 x 50 ft. each. The project was started by Mr. 

 Hardy, Superintendent of Schools ; and the practical work was in 

 charge of Professor F. A. Waugh and his assistants of the Horti- 

 cultural Department of the Massachusetts Agricultural College. 



Joliet, Illinois, has eighty acres in public school grounds. These 

 have over 30,000 trees on them. One school lot has a peach orchard 

 in which the fruit ripens unmolested. 



Superintendent O. J. Kern, of Winnebago County in Illinois, 

 formed a Farmers' Boys' Experiment Club in 1892. This Club now 

 has a membership of about 350 boys. Superintendent Kern arranges 

 monthly lectures for the club in winter. One or more excursions are 

 taken every year. Most of the boys have home gardens. Last season 

 Winnebago Co. had school-gardens in 73 districts. 



Ten new school-gardens were started in Minneapolis last spring. 

 The University of Minnesota aided in the work. 



It is said that in Cleveland, Ohio, sixty-five thousand children have 

 gardens either at home or at school. 



