44U State Horticultural Society. 



ISTational Cash Register Company, of Dayton, Ohio, will show what has 

 been done by systematic effort and will give him many valuable hints. 

 His duty is to give such instruction to the children that they shall have 

 right ideals. This may be done by blackboard drawings, by showing 

 pictures of grounds properly planted, and by directing their attention 

 to private grounds that show evidences of proper design. 



The improvement of the school grounds will come very slowly, even 

 with all the effort that may be put forth, until there are higher ideals 

 and more interest is taken in the arrangement of the yards at the homes. 

 If the home yards are mutilated by the miscellaneous planting of shrubs, 

 trees and flowers haphazard about the premises so as actually to destroy 

 that best setting for the home picture — the green lawn — it mil be a dif- 

 ficult matter to make artistic improvements in the school yards. On the 

 other hand, let the children be taught how to arrange the flowers, shrub- 

 bery and trees in the home plat so that the home shall be indeed a picture, 

 and the improvement of the school grounds will come as a natural 

 sequence. 



The objection to adding instruction of this kind to the already 

 crowded curriculum may be met by suggesting that the time be taken 

 from the time now given to the study of the text book in geography. 

 The ability to make the home surroundings beautiful at even less cost 

 than is now incurred in the haphazard, inartistic attempts, is of greater 

 disciplinary, practical and cultural A^alue than the ability to tell the loca- 

 tion of Timbuctoo, Jaalam Point or Calumpit. 



If women's clubs will lend their assistance to the movement for 

 more beautiful surroundings, a great impetus will be given to the efforst 

 being made to beautify the school and home grounds. To illustrate 

 specifically, I mention what one woman's club has done in Carthage this 

 fall. Prizes were offered for the school rooms having a window most 

 artistically decorated with plants. The conditions were as follows: 



1. All plants must be grown in the school building from cuttings, 

 seeds, dormant bulbs or tubers. 



2. The work must be done by the pupils as far as possible, and not 

 by the teacher. Her work should be directive only. 



3. The expenses must be borne by the pupils of the room. 



