752 Rural School Leaflet. 



because it was a new feature in education, and was more or less interest- 

 ing to the public. But when, however, there was realization of the 

 labor necessary to keep a piece of ground in cultivation, and the 

 amount of effort needed in the beginning to keep the children 

 interested, there was not enough enthusiasm left to investigate the 

 cause of the difficulties, and overcome them. 



Very often too much is attempted the first year. Some very attractive 

 school-gardening work has been done on large pieces of ground with hun- 

 dreds of children. The persons who have made a success of this work 

 have had deep belief in its value, and much perseverance and time have 

 been given to develop the enterprise. Noting their success, many 

 teachers have endeavored to follow their example, and have tried to have 

 children cultivate some large piece of ground, difficult perhaps to work, 

 and failure followed. It were far better to make very small beginnings, 

 teaching children to cultivate a few plants well, than to have them under- 

 take too much without knowledge or energy to complete what they have 

 begun. This, I think, at the outset is most important, very simple 

 beginnings in gardening in connection with school work. 



But make a beginning. Whatever the hardships, it is worth the while, 

 if for no other reason than to give the children the resource that love of 

 gardening brings into their lives. Do you think that gardening is a 

 wholesome and healthful thing for little children, for their bodies and 

 their minds? If so, give the young persons in your community, whether 

 in the country or the city, this opportunity for development. Do not be 

 discouraged if those who sit by the wayside question your success. Some 

 persons will expect to see the children carrying baskets of flowers to the 

 hospitals at the end of the first year; they will expect the garden to be 

 a thing of beauty, free from weeds. Do not be discouraged if you can- 

 not accomplish all this. If a fair start is made in the first year, time 

 will bring about desired results. Each year the work will grow stronger; 

 each year the garden can be more profitably cultivated ; each year the 

 children's love of the soil and the green things growing will increase. 



Let us first consider a school-garden under favorable conditions. There 

 is a piece of ground, a half-acre, perhaps, in extent, not far from the 

 school. This ground is at the service of the teacher and the children. 

 The problem before them is to make it a productive piece of property, 

 to give the greatest educational value possible per square foot. The 

 proper handling of this work ought to bring about definite educational 

 and social development for the children. Following are some of the 

 factors that should be considered in this development: 



I . Civic pride. Every citizen should consider what part he can take 



