636 Home Xature-Studv Course. 



The apprentice, as already exemplified in the salad garden. 



The garden craftsman, to be described in this article. 



The Master gardener, as will be detailed in a future article. 



Any one or all of the above may be located and given an adaptation 

 in any of the three following places — the teacher to judge of the cir- 

 cumstances. 



The school-ground or vacant-lot garden. 



The laboratory garden. 



The home garden. 



The School-Gkolxd and \'acant-Lot Garden for children is the 

 most familiar to the general reader and also to the public. It is the only 

 form of garden available in some districts, namely the congested parts 

 of cities. 



It lends itself to photographs and lantern slides showing children at 

 work and halftone illustrations are what editors require to give catchiness 

 to an article. For this reason we get but little of other forms of chil- 

 dren's gardens in printed descriptions or from the lecture platform. 

 This leads the inexperienced to think that it is the only available way to 

 interest and teach children in matters that relate to the soil and plants. 

 When circumstances make it a case of Hobson's choice — that or nothing 

 — it should be undertaken and much good may be accomplished if the 

 proper person is behind the work. There are other forms of children's 

 gardens that can be adopted, requiring less forced draught than that of 

 a field divided into little plots that are assigned to individual children. 



First, the vacant lot type is expensive in that the plan requires an in- 

 structor for at least three months of the summer season and four months 

 if the planting is installed in early Alay and the cultivation continued 

 until early September. 



The young gardeners — the more persistent — do well to attend to the 

 cultivation of their assigned plots during that period. With the main 

 walks and path divisions between plots there remains about one-fourth 

 of the vacant lot to be cared for Ijy day lal)orcrs. The rent of land is 

 not generally a factor in current expenses for often its use is donated, 

 but plowing or spading, fertilizers, and fencing and a small ec[uipment of 

 tools and tool shed should not be overlooked. 



Under the inspiration of spring weather many children enlist, but 

 because of many reasons few remain through the summer campaign to 

 have fruits of victory to show in September. Not all of this is due to 

 children's lack of persistency of purpose. Summer is the season for va- 

 cations, visiting and excursions, wliicli lead to ]5artial if not permanent 

 abandonment of plot gardens. Tlie looter or vandal plays his nefarious 



