216 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



from the lower schools to the higher universities, some form of laboratory method is 

 pursued — that is to say, students are required to make personal observations, experi- 

 ments, and deductions. They study the daily weather map and develop habits of 

 individual thought. In a matter so complex as the weather no text-books can replace 

 the daily map, personal observations, and independent study. 



In addition to the popular work of the high schools and colleges, a higher class of 

 work has been carried out by the scientific schools and imiversities. This special 

 technical instruction is divided into two parts — that which is done by the scientific 

 faculty as such and that which is done by Weather Bureau officials temporarily 

 appointed as instructors, who sometimes do this educational work without extra com- 

 pensation from the colleges. There are 19 of the latter and about 50 of the former. 



Effort is being made to correlate and reduce to a uniform system the standard of 

 instruction to be given at these institutions, so that, at least in some cases, these 

 scientific schools may prepare men for the highest work that is required of a Weather 

 Bureau official. 



The school garden work of the Bureau of Plant Industry is sum- 

 marized by the Chief of that Bureau as follows: 



Public interest in the school garden movement has not waned during the year. In 

 fact the distribution of special collections of flower and vegetable seeds for individual 

 school gardens, as well as of a collection of seeds for decorating school grounds, has 

 been more general than was the case the preceding year. Every State and Territory, 

 except Nevada and Wyoming, are represented upon the mailing list of the Bureau in 

 its school garden work. The distribution of seeds for this purpose during the past 

 year amounted to 155,870 packets of flower seeds, 150,520 packets of vegetable seeds, 

 and 71,150 packets of decorative flower seeds, making a total of 377,540 packets. It 

 is safe to say that about 75,500 school gardens have been provided for in the last year's 

 distribution, or about twice as many as were reached in the distribution of the pre- 

 ceding year. The largest distribution of the past year was made to the State of Illi- 

 nois, the second largest to New York, the third largest to Pennsylvania, with Massa- 

 chusetts fourth upon the list. During the preceding year New York received the 

 largest distribution, Ohio the second largest, and New Jersey third largest. It is 

 evident that the school garden movement is westward bound. 



It can safely be said that more than a thousand teachers of schools in various parts 

 of the country are interested in this work. The gratifying reports which are received 

 from this distribution make it evident that it is meeting with good results and is fill- 

 ing a very useful place in the school work of our country. It is certain that hundreds 

 (if children who knew little or nothing of the manner of growth and methods of culti- 

 vation of the various garden crops and flowers have been given the rudiments of agri- 

 culture through the distribution of seeds to the schools, and that many minds which 

 were never before interested in agriculture have a live interest in the subject at the 

 present time. 



The work in cooperation with the normal schools of Washington, D. C, has been 

 continued on a plat of about 3 acres in the northeast corner of the Department grounds. 

 This is the most extensive work of this kind yet undertaken on the grounds, and has 

 been very successful. The work, as in preceding years, has been in charge of Miss 

 Sr.san B. Sipe. of Normal School No. !, and has been continued throughout the sum- 

 mer as a vacation garden fur the school children of the city. Great interest has been 

 n)anifested in this work. 



The Forester reports that "educational work through addresses 

 was greatly extended during the year, both in the number of meet- 

 ings held and in the territory covered. Systematic work was carried 



