PROGRESS TT^ AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 581 



NORTH CENTKAI, STATKS. 



Ill the North Central State.s the school tranleii movement is in a con- 

 dition of ferment. With the exception of a few centers not much has 

 been done yet, ])ut a w'reat (U'al is hciii*;- phmned. 



In Ohio the work of the Home (iai-denin*>- Association at Cleveland 

 in inaintaininjjf school tjardens at the Rockwell School and in ]>roinotiii»^' 

 tlie home iiardeniii"" movement throuylioiit the citv is l>einiif condnncd. 

 So, too, is tilt* work of the National Cash Keji^ister Company at Dayton 

 in furnishinj( jrardcns and instruction in trardeninjr for aliout T<» hoys. 

 Thei-e is also a movement throughout the State to interest childnMi of 

 the rural districts in jj^rowinjuf veji^etahles and llowei's at home. This 

 work is hein*;" conducted through the teachers and school ofticers, 

 encoura*i^ed lari^vly l)y the Ohio Students' Union, the Collej>-e of A^^-i- 

 culture of the Ohio State University, and the Ohio Stat(> Experiment 

 Stution. This 3'ear 77 hoys and 4 jjfii-ls in S])rin<;Held Township are 

 makino- simple experiments in oi-owino- coi'n, and Is ^iils are raising 

 vej^-etahles from seed furnished by the United States Department of 

 Aj^'riculture. 



Illinois has several strong agencies working- for the introduction of 

 school gardening and instruction in the elements of agricultufe among 

 the schools of both city and country. The State superintendent of 

 public instruction, the officers of the college of agriculture of the 

 University of Illinois, the officers of several of the State normal 

 schools, and a number of the county superintendents of schools are 

 active in the movement. There are detinite reports of school-garden 

 work l)eing started at the normal scliools at Charleston, Normal, Car- 

 bondale, and Dekalb, but in the Chicago Normal School nothing of 

 the kind has yet been attempted. The superintendent of schools in 

 Winne])ago County, O. J. Kern, of Kockford, is an enthusiastic 

 worker for everything that will improve the rural schools — school 

 gardens, experiments in growing crops by farm boys, the j)lanting of 

 school grounds, and discussions in meetings of teachers. Tluough 

 his intliu'nce school gardens have l)ecn started in about 15 districts of 

 the county (PI. XXXV^I, Hg. 1), and in many other places tlowei- beds 

 <)!• plants or trees have been set out. This spring every township in 

 Winnebago County had a graduation exercise with a programme full 

 of subjects relating to the beautifying of school premises. The sole 

 tuj)ic of the country-school section of the Northern Illinois Teachers' 

 Association, held at Dekalb A})ril 23-!25, 1903, was school gardens. 

 It was also an important topic at tluMVinnebago County Teachers' 

 Institute, held the last two davs in A^jril and the first three davs in 

 May. 



Thiough the efforts of the Connnercial Club, of Indianapolis, Ind., 

 live of the schools of that city were supplied with sot'ds this year, and 

 garden work was begun. 



