756 Rural School Leaflet. 



3. Class garden. Satisfacton^ results have been obtained by having 

 the entire class take charge of a piece of ground, each having a share in 

 planting a row or part of a row. The children work together, and the 

 harvest is used for any purpose that the children as a class desire. In 

 this way a small piece of ground can be made useful for a large number 

 of children. 



4. Tools. The tools should be ordered early in the season. We have 

 found in our gardens that the small-sized hoes and rakes of good quality 

 have been more satisfactory than large ones for most work. The chil- 

 dren can handle them more easily and in the close culture of small plats 

 they are more convenient. We secured our rakes and hoes 

 for twenty cents apiece. We have used them for two years and they 

 are still in good condition. At the close of every exercise tools should be 

 cleaned and hung in the tool house. 



5. Seeds. If a large piece of ground is to be cultivated by the children, 

 it would be well to secure the seeds in bulk. Some of the older children 

 will enjoy putting them up in packets and marking them. This will be 

 a good school exercise. The teacher with some of the children might 

 estimate the number of linear feet to be planted with each kind of seed. 

 If the teacher does not know the quantity needed for this estimate, the 

 seedsman will tell her. If there are but a few children in the school 

 or a small piece of ground to be cultivated, the penny packets will be 

 found satisfactory. These can be purchased of James Vicks' Sons, 

 Rochester, N. Y. 



6. Testing seeds. Children should acquire the habit of testing seeds 

 which they purchase. This may be done in the following way: Take 

 a five-cent cake tin. On the bottom place a layer of cotton wadding to 

 absorb and retain the moisture ; over this place a sheet of moist blotting 

 paper marked off in squares, each square labeled with the kind of seed 

 to be tested. Place another blotter over the seeds, and cover the tin 

 with another of the same size, or a thin board. Place the tester in a 

 warm room and keep the blotters moist. 



7. Market. The handling of produce opens a large and interesting 

 field along educational lines. If children wish to sell their products, 

 they should learn that it is always important for the market gardener 

 to present his produce to the public in the most attractive form. Some 

 children make the baskets during the winter in which they are to ex- 

 hibit their garden products. Some day there may be market places in 

 villages and cities for the crops grown in children's gardens. This would 

 add greatly to the interest the children would take in their harvests. 

 Such an enterprise would encourage industry, and appeal to many idle 



