SCHOOL GARDENING AND ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE IN THE 

 SCHOOLS OF ONTARIO 



As Encouraged and Directed By Schools' Division of the Ontario Agri- 

 cultural and Experimental Union, Onta-io Agricultural College, 

 Guelph, Canada; A Plan For Co-operative Work with Schools 



BY PROF. S. B. McCREADY, DIRECTOR. 



Aims: This Division has been organized for the purpose of 

 bringing the schools of the province into closer touch with the 

 Ontario Agricultural College; to help teachers in their efforts to 

 introduce some simple, real and useful form of nature-study or 

 elementary agriculture; to arrange a line of work that may be 

 followed by all, to the end that there may be unit of purpose and 

 experience amongst teachers; to assist teachers and trustees to 

 make for improvement in their school grounds and buildings as 

 well as in the quality and nature of the instruction imparted; to 

 arouse early interests in children in the working of the soil and 

 the growing of plants, so that as they grow older they may be- 

 come increasingly alive to the many problems of farming, gar- 

 dening, re-foresting, etc., and in helping to solve them, gain 

 pleasure and profit. 



While its first concern is to help the rural schools to give a 

 more adequate and fitting education to country children, it is at 

 the service of the graded schools of towns and cities as well. 



The work is supported by a special government grant made 

 to the Experimental Union. It is not carried on for any gain 

 whatsoever; on the other hand, indeed, the expenses are by no 

 means inconsiderable. 



The Work of 1909: The results of the work for the season 

 of 1909 were very satisfactory. They showed that many teach- 

 ers in Ontario were ready to co-operate in testing the value of 

 gardening as a means of education. Through the co-operation 

 of their teachers, more than 6,000 children were provided with 

 vegetable and flower seeds at t cent a packet: this number was 

 made up of pupils in 117 schools; and as a number of these were 

 graded schools, over 150 teachers were represented. Fifty per 

 cent of the teachers sent in reports on their work and almost 

 without exception declared it to have been of advantage to the 

 school and pupil alike. Most of the schools were in the coun- 

 try, but many town and city schools engaged in the work also. 

 In addition to the distribution of seeds to pupils, 22 schools 



