574 KEPOKT OK OFFICE OF KXl'KKIMKNT STATIONS. 



atul \ ('ti('lal)l(' lifiirdciis. It has Ik'cm I'ouikI a t'niidul source of iiisl ruc- 

 tion ill nature study, a means for arousinj^- and developinjj^ an appreci- 

 ation of the beautiful in out(h)()i- ai"t. and its inthuMice has in nearly all 

 cases extended to the homes of the childi-en, with the icsult that many 

 ellorts ha\'e been made to improve the external appearance of these 

 homes. l<ifl'oi"ts alon*i- this line aic not l>y any means »j^<'ncral, hut 

 interest in the work is acti\e. especially in the Noi'th Atlantic and 

 North (Vntral States. It should he fostered and (uicouraj^-ed wher- 

 ever a m(Mnl)ei- of this association or any of its auxiliaries can be 

 found. 



School (gardens — mcanin*;' by the tei'm iiower and vegetable gardens 

 utilized for educational purposes — are more numerous, or at least 

 more of them have been reported to your connnitt(;e. They are found 

 in the East, the Middle West, the South, the far West, and our insular 

 possessions. They are maintained in connection with the kindergarten, 

 and with every other grade, up to the high school. However, the really 

 signiticant and permanently valuable feature of recent progress in this 

 connection lies notso much in the extent of the movement or in the grade 

 of instruction as in the fact that scuool gardens are })eing started in con- 

 nection with 15 or 20 normal schools, that the otticers of 10 or 12 agricul- 

 tural colleges are preparing school-garden plans and courses and other- 

 wise cooperating in the work, and that departments of public instruction 

 all over the United States are displaying much interest and activity in 

 the school-garden movement. In this way preparation is being made 

 for putting school-garden instruction on a pedagogical basis. Nearly 

 every new educational movement has its fad or sprout stage, during 

 which it makes a luxuriant growth in the sunshine of popular favor, 

 and is only saved from breaking down of its own weight by the level- 

 headed few who possess not only enthusiasm but the necessary native 

 ability and persistence to make the thing succeed. This is followed 

 by a period of reaction, of cutting back, during which if unworthy it 

 dies, or if worthy takes root deep in the rich earth of our existing educa- 

 tional institutions and prepares for a less showy but strong and vigor- 

 ous growth. It is encouraging, therefore, to note that so many of 

 our leading educational institutions are already preparing to give ade- 

 quate and intelligent support to the school-garden movement, to pre- 

 pare teachers who shall be able to make the school garden truly an 

 educational feature of the school. 



PLANTING TREES AND ORNAMENTALS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF SCHOOL 



GROUNDS. 



One of the most active agencies for the improvement of school 

 grounds, both urban and rural, is the Bureau of Nature Study of 

 Cornell University. For a number of years this bureau has been 

 working among the children of the State through Junior Naturalist 



