286 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [11:6— Sept., 1915 



It is also important that the plants are rather hardy — little hands 

 are sometimes rough and hoes will sometimes strike where they 

 should not — and that plants are suitable for home garden . 



Last year the second grade decided they would raise onions 

 (from sets), radishes, beets and carrots. The third grade, where 

 the study of transplanting is begun and where the home garden 

 work is first strongly emphasized, to raise cabbage, tomatoes, 

 radishes and onions. 



In the third grade each child wrote a letter to his parents asking 

 for a plot of ground to be used for a garden. He promised to learn 

 how to plant and care for the plants at school and to do all the 

 work himself. Nineteen parents from the class of twenty re- 

 sponded favorably. The twentieth boy lived upstairs and had 

 no place for a garden. 



It seemed best that the children should work in groups in the 

 school garden, those who sit in one row in the school room usually 

 woik at one row in the garden. The plot should not be so large 

 that it cannot be well cared for, even if the weather is so bad that 

 work is interfered with at times, as it is almost sure to be. The 

 second grade plot was 19 feet by 13^ feet being equally divided 

 into plots for onions, radishes, beets and carrots. The third grade 

 plot was 25 feet by 21 feet. This gave room for radish and onion 

 beds, each n feet by 13 feet, a cabbage plot 10 feet by 12 feet and 

 a tomato plot 12 feet by 12 feet. The cabbage plants were set 

 two feet apart and the tomato plants three feet apart. Paths 

 were left between all rows and between all plots. 



The entire garden plot was measured and marked off into 

 smaller plots for the different kinds of vegetables and for paths. 

 Each smaller plot was prepared for planting as the time came for 

 planting this kind of vegetable. The children then prepared 

 the home plots in the same way. After the planting at school 

 was done and they learned how to prepare the bed and sow the 

 seed they were furnished with a small quantity of seeds or they 

 purchased them for themselves. Then they began their planting 

 at home. The tomato and cabbage plants were raised in window 

 boxes or in hot beds at school and after the transplanting at school 

 each child took his share of the plants home and set them out. 



In one corner of the school room the blackboard was used as a 

 place for recording garden work. As soon as a child had radishes 

 or onions large enough to use on the family table he brought 



