PLANTING THE RURAL SCHOOL GROUNDS 



Circular No. 3G 



BY C. P. IIALLIGAN 



General Aim 



Any plan for the improvement of the school grounds should first of all 

 be simple. No elaborate or pretentious effects should be attempted in 

 their development. The primary aim should be to retain and increase the 

 natural beauty of the surrounding scenery, making the grounds a beauty 

 spot in the rural landscape, rather than a formal, artificial, or imported 

 element in the scenery. A school ground should possess the same general 

 character of beauty as is indigenous to the neighborhood, making it appear 

 not as something separate and distinct from the surroundings, but as an 

 attractive and pleasing portion of the general landscape. 



Use of Native Plants 



For these reasons the trees, shrubs, and plants that are used to develop 

 the rural school grounds can well be of the kinds found in the neighboring 

 fields and woods. Such plants will be naturalistic and harmonious in the 

 landscape, and better adapted to the climatic and soil conditions of the 

 place than some exotic plants that might be purchased from a nursery. 



Therefore, the expense that might be incurred in purchasing plants for 

 the work should not detain ambitious teachers from developing the s(?hool 

 grounds. Nursery plants of tlie kinds most adapted to the conditions are 

 easier to transplant successfully because of Iheir more branched and 

 fibrous root systems, but similar kinds from the fields may be successfully 

 transplanted if the work is carefully and properly done. 



The interest and enthusiasm of children may be aroused for this work 

 by arranging field excursions in the early spring, — which is the season 

 when the plants should be transplanted, — to fields and woods, where they 

 may be found, and where under the teachers' direction thev mav be care* 

 fully dug and then transferred to the school grounds. The earlier in the 

 spring this work is done, the better are the chances of success. The aim 

 in digging should be to retain as many of the roots as practicable and to 

 keep them moist and protected from exposure to sun and wind. In so far 

 as it is sometimes difficult to identify many of the plants in early spring 

 when there is no foliage upon them, it is often desirable to have field 

 excursions in the early fall while the leaves are still on the plants and to 

 mark such plants as are desired for spring planting. Such an excursion 

 could ])e made in connection with a lesson in botany or nature study 

 work. 



The Planting Plan 



Before the planting is started a plan should be drawn to a definite scale 

 (say of V to 10'). showing the size and location of all existing buildings, 

 walks, drives, plantings and boundaries of the property. With this data 



