78 Nebraska State Horticultural Society. 



the children can watch the growth of the roots as well as the tops of 

 the plants. 



Wliat to Plant in School Gardens. 



Plant anything that is desired. Let the children choose what they 

 shall plant. They will take the more interest in the work. It will be 

 found, however, that some things are grown much more .readily than 

 others, some things will not stand the neglect which the general school 

 garden will usually be subject to during the vacation. Moreover, only 

 a few annuals will last till school begins again in the fall. 



In the plan presented with this article, only such things are in- 

 cluded as should succeed in the general garden on the school grounds, 

 and which are for the most part adapted to such gardens on account of 

 tne time at which they mature. For the individual gardens at home 

 many other things might be added. For instance, among annual flowers 

 there might be added to the list Poppies, Nasturtiums, Marigolds, Ver- 

 benas, Balsams, Bachelor Buttons, Morning Glories, Sweet Peas, Orna- 

 mental Gourds, and Hyacinth Beans. In vegetables. Beans, Peas, Beets, 

 Carrots, Parsnips, Cabbage, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, and others might be 

 included in the individual gardens, but many of these would not be 

 very suitable for the general garden. 



There are some things not usually thought of in connection with 

 school gardens that certainly should not be entirely neglected. These 

 are the tree seeds and cuttings of various trees, shrubs and other plants. 

 Some of the small fruits and perennial vegetables should also be in- 

 cluded. In no better way can the pupils be taught the methods of propa- 

 gating plants, by cuttings, layers, grafting, etc. Many phases of agri- 

 culture are hard to present in the common school because of the lack 

 of equipment and material for illustration. In the propagation of 

 plants, however, the materials are so seasily grown and require so little 

 room that it would be a pity to omit them entirely. The school garden 

 plan suggested in connection with this article provides for a small 

 nursery. Many other things might be included to advantage but most 

 of the general methods of propagation are illustrated. The Juneberry 

 serves to illustrate propagation by suckers. It sprouts readily if a few 

 of the roots are cut off near the plant. Blackberries, Red Raspberries, 

 Chokecherries and others might be grown in place of Juneberries. The 

 first three of these sprout readily without cutting the roots. The Juno- 

 berry might also serve to illustrate layerage by having a limb bent 

 down and covered with earth, the tip alone being left exposed. Other 

 plants that are propagated readily by layers are Black Raspberries and 



