INDIANA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 297 



CHILDREN'S GARDENS. 



W. \V. WOOLLEN, INDIANAVOLIS. 



A mother asked a pliilosopher at Avhat age she should commence the 

 education of her child. He inquired of her how old the child was, aud 

 was told tiiat it had seen six summers. Learning this, he said: "Madam, 

 jou have lost live j-ears." As a twig is bent, so will the tree be inclined, 

 is an adage, the verity of which is well understood by horticulturists. An- 

 other adage is, bring up a child in the way it should go and it will not 

 depart from the way in its old age. This is why I am an advocate of 

 children's gardens. 



The word garden is a very comprehensive one. In this paper I shall 

 use it in a limited sense, confining myself to kitchen aud tlower gar- 

 dening. 



No two factors more largely enter into tlie real and substantial com- 

 forts of rural life than the raising of poultry and the cultivation of 

 kitchen gardens. Of the first of these we have abundant statistics show 

 Ing that the poultry output of this State, not taking into account that 

 used by the farmers, is worth more to the State than any of the other 

 products of its farmers. It is to be regretted that we do not have such 

 reliable statistics as to the products of our gardens. When, however, we 

 take into account the immense population of the towns and cities of the 

 State who are fed from its gardens and those from other States, we know 

 that the value of their product is almost, if not quite equal to that of the 

 poultry product, and this is true without regard to the large amount of 

 sueli products used by the families of our farmers and horticulturists. 

 And wlio of us, when we stop to think, does not know how much the 

 kitchen gardens mean to these farmers and horticulturists? From them 

 they draw their table supplies during the entire year. Indeed, without 

 their supplies, oiu's would be a poor, miserable existence. As civilization 

 advances, we are learning more certainly that it is well for us if we eat 

 more fruit and vegetables and less meat. More than a hundred years 

 ago, a distinguished French naturalist announced that if all the birds 

 of the world were destroyed, in nine years thereafter, the earth would 

 be without vegetation and uninhabitable for man. One would think that 

 thus knowing the value aud importance of our vegetable life and the 

 importance of our kitchen gardens, we would at least give them a con- 

 siderable part of our best thought and attention. Do we do it? 



As a rule when Spring comes, the average farmer goes into what 

 Is known as his garden lot and rakes up the weed stocks and rubbish 

 which had been allowed to grow and accumulate there the previous 

 year, and burns them preparatory to plowing the ground. Of course, the 

 weeds that were permitted to grow there last year produced a groat crop 



