foreman] SCHOOL GARDENING IN THE PHILLIPINES 357 



cussion on Philippine conditions seems foreign matter. Often 

 only a few general geographical and historical facts are recalled 

 and these are largely associated with bringing the Islands under 

 the American flag. The ordinary person does not form a mental 

 picture of 3000 islands with a total length of 1,152 miles and a 

 width of 682 miles, including a land area of about five-sixths of the 

 state of California, and inhabited by 8,000,000 Malay people who 

 under a well organized system of taxation entirely support their 

 government. Few picture a country inhabited by a Christian 

 people, the only Christian nation in the Orient ; one that can boast 

 of the oldest university under the American flag (Santo Tomas 

 founded in 16 10); a country with a complete system of well 

 organized public schools which enroll 600,000 pupils and employ 

 as teachers 530 Americans and 9,400 Filipinos to instruct in 

 English, the official language of the country. 



The school system is closely adapted to the needs of the people 

 and provides a well thought out plan of academic, industrial, and 

 physical training whereby the pupil learns how to make a living 

 while receiving his common school education. The industrial 

 work is varied and includes trades, homemaking, household indus- 

 tries, handicraft, gardening, farming and food campaigns. Since 

 training for life work is emphasized it necessarily follows that 

 gardening, the subject of this paper, and its higher complement, 

 agriculture, should receive major emphasis. Gardening has been 

 given a place in the curriculum of all primary and intermediate 

 schools as prescribed work, except in such schools as are specially 

 organized to give superior training in some one other industrial line. 



The garden program as actually carried out gives place to flowers 

 and yard improvements, vegetable growing, use of vegetables and 

 farm produce, and food production campaigns which include con- 

 tests in corn growing as well as yam and legume growing. Tree 

 planting is featured in a way that makes Arbor Day a special part 

 of a general all-the-y ear-round plan, emphasizing properly planted 

 and well-cared-for trees for ornamental, shade and economic pur- 

 poses. In making this line of work serve the needs of the people 

 we note a double object. We must instruct the boys in the actual 

 growing of things for the educational value such training affords. 

 In addition the garden must provide food for the people. To 

 increase the food supply and to better the diet of the common 

 people are important factors in our work. When a pupil enters 



