570 KEPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



Stliool and uiils from the Franklin Sc'lu«)l liad individual «''ardons 

 und<'r the suprrvision of a science teacher in the normal school, who 

 was assisted by her normal students. This work has succeeded admi- 

 raltly, not only in furnishing o-arden woi'k for the pu})ils of these two 

 schools, ))ut also in proxidin*^ traininjif for prosjiective teachers. This 

 year three graduates of the normal school ha\-e been put in charge 

 of school-garden work in seven of the other citv schools, and a fouilh 

 irraduate has charg(» of gardens in connection with several of the 

 schools at Bro()klin(\ 



Another notable enterprise of this kind in Boston is the Hale House 

 Farm. Hale House is a social settlement in Boston, the officers of 

 which procured last summer several acres of ground at Watiu'town, 

 one hour out by streetcar, where 12 of the boys erected a small cottage 

 in which they could stay nights and Sundays. Most of the boys were 

 at work during tlie da}', so their time at the farm was limited. 

 However, they planted potatoes, peas, beans, corn, watermelons, musk- 

 melons, squash, cucumbers, lettuce, and beets, and succeeded in pro- 

 ducing some very good vegetables. The enterprise is l)eing continued 

 this 3'ear with prospects of even greater success than attended last 

 year's efiorts. 



In the vicinitv of Boston several towns have inaugurated work on 

 the plan originally followed at the George Putnam Granmiar School. 

 Medford has three such gardens and Wenham five. P2ast Dedham, on 

 the other hand, is branching out on original lines. A new school- 

 house is just being ])uilt and a progressive school board has employed 

 a landscape architect to take charge of the planting, with the result 

 that the grounds are to be provided not only with shade trees, shrub- 

 bery, and playgrounds, but also with a botanic and flower garden, a 

 rockery, a vegetable garden with individual plats for a large number 

 of pupils, and a nursery for growing trees and shrubs. (1*1. XXXH.) 



In the public schools of Worcester the raising of plants has been 

 substituted for the old-time work in botanical analysis. Gardening, 

 however, is onl}' one of the many valuable features of nature-study 

 work conducted in these schools. At Grotou school-garden w^ork has 

 been conducted in connection with the School of Horticulture and 

 Landscape Gardening for Women. 



At least two of the normal schools of Massachusetts, viz, those at 

 Hvannis and Framingham, have incorporated school-garden work in 

 their practice schools to give their normal students training in conduct- 

 ing work of this kind. At H3'annis the garden work is made the basis 

 for luimerous exercises in connection with the mathematics, bookkeep- 

 ing, business training, drawing, and language work of the school. 

 The children write letters to the seedsmen from whom they purchase 

 seeds, sell their produce, deposit mone}" in the })ank, make purchases 

 and pay for them with checks drawn on their account, 



