80 
William S. Allt, making a total of four besides the head gardener. 
Mr. Allt took the course for the training of gardeners at Kew in 
1909-10, and holds the Kew gardener’s certificate. 
The work of the Garden demands at least four gardeners 
during the outdoor season, but at present three men are sufficient 
for the indoor work in winter. We have arranged with one of 
the gardeners to act as fireman in the winter, thus giving him con- 
tinuous employment, and making possible three shifts of eight 
hours each in the boiler room without engaging an extra man. 
The labor of mounting several thousand herbarium specimens 
has occupied most of the time of one assistant, Miss Margaret 
Mann, who has also given stenographic assistance in the office, and 
laboratory and field assistance to the curator of plant breeding. 
Department of Public Instruction 
Summary of Elementary Instruction—A rather full statement 
of the development of our elementary instruction was published 
in the Botanic Garden Recorp for October, 1914, and a repetition 
of the details is not necessary here. The various phases of the 
work include children’s gardens, the distribution of penny packets 
of seeds for the planting of home gardens (25,000 distributed 
during 1914), the first annual children’s garden exhibit, the super- 
vision of children’s home gardens (500 visited during July and 
August, 1914), visits by classes from public and private schools, 
talks and addresses by members of the staff, before local organiza- 
tions and at local schools (53 given during the year, with a total 
of over 10,000 auditors) and especially the conducting of regular 
Garden classes for adults and children, in the laboratory building, 
plant houses, and grounds (266 class exercises and lectures, with 
a total registration of 506, and a total attendance of 7,214), 
Course for Preparation of Teachers.—A course for the prepara- 
tion of teachers of children’s gardening, along the lines projected 
in my annual report for 1913, was inaugurated in January and 
continued until November 14. So far as the Garden has been 
able.to ascertain, this is the most thorough course for the prepara- 
tion of teachers for such work ever offered by any institution. 
It will be repeated somewhat enlarged in 1915. 
This course sets a new standard of requirements for the teach- 
