SHAW] 



CI/IL BR EN'S (r. 1 RDENS 45 



have ever seen was a seventh grade teaching a kindergarten class 

 to plant corn and beans. 



The middle school represents the place of keenest garden 

 interest. It is good disciplinary work, too. Here rivalry is 

 keen and it is the time to take advantage of it. The fifth year is 

 a fine time to throw the work back home even though the 

 school has its garden. I would have at that time all the home 

 gardens possible. The third and fourth years should have very 

 stiff work along lines of lessons in planting, transplanting, the in- 

 door starting of seedlings, the arithmetic side of the garden, 

 plan making, the writing of directions in good, clear English. 

 Out of the fifth year home work ought to spring very spontan- 

 eous interesting English work. 



In the upper grades splendid opportunity presents itself for 

 problematic work. The original plan of the garden, its color 

 scheme, the arrangements for getting and distributing seed, spe- 

 cial economic work, e. g., raising of fibre plants, inoculation of 

 soil, spraying experiments with special problems at home, the 

 raising of certain marketable products for actual profit, etc. 



Correlated with this is the arithmetic of the garden plan, 

 keeping of debit and credit accounts, art work, good business 

 letters. This unstrained sort of correlation is worth while be- 

 cause it has a reason for being. 



I have not touched upon the work along the line of garden 

 pests, of the value of birds, of the trees, of all those nature sub- 

 jects which, in an unforced way, work naturally around this 

 garden interest, and out of it. Learning about six common 

 weeds is dead as compared with learning of those weeds which 

 destroy the garden and which must be dealt with to protect the 

 ;garden. 



A grade course which fits a, city, is not one for a town and is 

 •certainly not one for the country. In general the garden 

 work to pursue in a country district lies along lines of im- 

 provement of school grounds and of special problems which 

 strike back to the farm and interest the people at home; the work 

 for the town usually is that of home improvement of back yard 

 and of front yard and has large aesthetic value ; the work of the 

 city is in some cases, the big vacant lot problem, in others, the 

 making the most of roofs, small yards and window boxes. 



The whole matter of children's gardens resolves itself into 

 a local problem. 



