r)80 KKl'OKT OK OFFICK <»F KXI'pnilMKNT STATIONS. 



1:? priiclico schools, containing- :i})out 450 children, wlio huve ))oen 

 oivcn seeds for honio ]iliuitin}^' jind are nndei- th(> instrnction of the 

 normal students. In this way tlie chihlfen are receixinj^ valuahlc 

 instruction in phint growth and the I'utui-e teacliors of Wasliinji^ton arc 

 l>cin<j|" trained to ciirr}' on th<^ work in an intellij^ent and practical ^\ny. 



Jn addition to this Avoik the Department of Agriculture has placed 

 at the disposal of tlu^ normal school a strip of land 1<> l»y 250 feet, 

 which is l)einjL>f cultivated hy a class of ;5() boys and j^irls from a sixth- 

 grade school in the vicinity of the Department grounds. (1*1. XXXV, 

 lig. 2.) Kach plat is 7 ))y 10 feet and contains the common garden 

 vegetables and a few llowei-s. The success of the experiment has 

 lieen remarkal)le, notoidy in the general good condition of the gardens 

 (PI. XXX\', tig. 8), but in the marked enthusiasm shown bv the 

 children for their work. It is all voluntetM- work, and yet man}' of the 

 pupils spend time during recess periods and after school at work in 

 their gardens. 



The influence of this work in connection with the normal school is 

 extending to other (juarters of the city. Through the cooperation of 

 the Department of Agriculture, the National Plant, Flower, and Fruit 

 Guild, and the social settlements in the city, gardens containing from 

 10 to 85 plats each have })een started in several different localities. 

 The places were selected by an officer of the guild, the children to 

 carry on the work were secured through the social settlements, and 

 seed was furnished b}^ the Department, which also sent out a gardener 

 to superintend the planting and now furnishes volunteers to oversee 

 the work. Through these influences also a great many home gardens 

 have been or are being planted in the vicinity of the various garden 

 centers. 



SOUTH CENTRAL STATES. 



In the South Central States school-garden work has been reported 

 at Louisville, Ky., and Tuskegee, Ala., but no information has reached 

 your connnittec regarding the status of the work in Louisville this 

 year. At Tuskegee the work is conducted in a practice school con- 

 nected with the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute much in 

 the same way that gardening is carried on at Hampton. It furnishes 

 practice work for the normal students and prepares pupils in the prac- 

 tice school for entering the institute. 



In this connection an enterprise now under way in Tennessee is 

 worthy^ of mention. Plans have been made and land purchased for the 

 establishment of a central rural school 12 miles from Knoxville. The 

 property acquired contains 14 acres, a part of which will ])e used for 

 campus, 5 acres for a model farm, and acres for garden, orchard, and 

 pla3'grounds. The pupils in this school, in addition to receiving a 

 sound elementary education, will learn how to farm, how to plant and 

 cultivate fruits and flowers, and how to raise poultry and operate dairies. 



