92 
The gardens are in two sections. One, a garden of ninety 
beds, was laid out and is supervised by the young women in the 
course for the preparation of school-garden teachers. This is one 
of the courses offered for the first time last fall by the Botanic 
Garden. The other is made up of sixty gardens. This garden 
was laid off and is supervised by the senior kindergarten class 
from Pratt Institute. 
The individual garden beds, 5X 7 ft. in size, are planted to 
vegetables, including beans, kohlrabi, onion seed, onion sets, car- 
rots, beets, radishes, and lettuce. Flower beds were planted by the 
children about the boundaries of these sections. Then there are 
some larger sections planted to grains, peanuts, melon, corn, and 
other things unsuited to planting in small areas. These again 
are study spots, where the children learn about the growth and 
culture of other plants than the very few which it is possible to 
raise in small individual garden beds. Another area is to be 
planted with plant families, a few of the more common families 
having been chosen for study. 
The young women in the normal class have their own gardens, 
larger in size than those of the children, and some of the older boys 
have sections in which they are carrying on experimental work. 
Back Yard Gardens.—During March the principals of the public 
schools of Brooklyn were notified that the Botanic Garden would 
supply penny packets of seeds to pupils who applied through their 
principals. Large manilla envelopes were prepared, with a list of 
seeds available printed on one side, and gardening directions on 
the other. Seeds were offered of eight different kinds of vege- 
tables and ten different flowering plants. On the smaller seed 
envelopes were printed brief directions for planting, One thous- 
and envelopes were prepared, with the anticipation that that would 
be ample for this season. Our surprise and dismay may well be 
imagined when it was found that requests were received for over 
26,000 penny packets. Over twenty-five thousand packets were 
supplied by the Garden direct, and the remainder, a very late 
order, indirectly through a local seed house. There was an aver- 
age of about five packets per child, so that over five thousand 
Brooklyn children are planting their own gardens this spring, 
either at home or at their school. A school garden exhibit is being 
