Rural School Leaflet. 



753 



in making his city more attractive and more 



desirable in every way. The children should 



begin to think of these things. Before the piece 



of ground is touched, they should be given an 



opportunity to discuss the condition of 



the property and make suggestions for 



its improvement. The school-garden 



should be one of the most marked 



demonstrations of civic betterment. 



2. Order. A school-garden should be 

 an expression of orderly arrangement. If 

 the children are very young, the ground 

 should be prepared and staked before 

 they begin work. With older boys and 

 girls, however, it is well to let them do everything possible 

 in connection with the development of the grounds. Give 

 the children everything that you can to make the ground 

 look orderly: the stakes should be the same size, twine the 

 same quality and color, measuring lines the same, and 

 the like. In a garden connected with a settlement, 

 I was told that the children cut the strings separating 

 the plats, that they pulled up the stakes, and were 

 generally destructive. I looked over the piece of ground, 

 and was not surprised that this had taken place. The 

 stakes were made of any available piece of wood that 

 could be picked up, and the plats outlined by strings differing in kind 

 and color, so that the appearance of the place was not such as to 

 demand respect. As soon as the ground was properly laid out, the 

 children had an appreciation of its neat, orderly appearance, and 

 there was no further destruction. 



3, Landscape design. It is not sufficient that a piece of property 

 should be neat and planned for utility. It should be developed 

 along the lines of good landscape design. Any teacher who has this 

 proposition before her should, if possible, consult a landscape gardener 

 in regard to her plans. It is much better to have the garden properly 

 laid out in the beginning than to try to make changes after its develop- 

 ment has begun. The plan of the grounds, the situation of tool house, 

 pond, and the like, and the planting in the garden, should be decided 

 before the ground is touched. The older children will receive valuable 

 lessons in drawing up the plans and locating the different places that 



