GROWING STRAWBERRIES AND STRAWBERRY PLANTS. 335 



In the fall plants are covered carefully the same as for fruit 

 bearing, because more plants are damaged from freezing and thaw- 

 ing than from any other cause. 



.Plants are dug with a six-tined fork in such a manner that the 

 crowns are not damaged, and roots not exposed any longer than ab- 

 solutely necessary. They are then culled out, trimmed, tied in 

 Lunches of twenty-five, labeled and packed in moss ready for ship- 

 ment. 



SCHOOL GARDENS. 



F. M. POWELl,, M. D., GLENWOOD, IOWA. 



Whatever our natural endowment may be, environment princi- 

 pally makes up our character. When we consider how varied our 

 surrounding conditions may be, the adage, — "No two persons are 

 exactly alike," does not seem strange. 



Pedagogy has been struggling for centuries past to determine 

 the correct route to mental development and character. Theories, — 

 often called fads, — are frequently being heralded by the school mas- 

 ter, but it is not positive that they clearly and fully meet the re- 

 quirements, for the reason that to us there continues much mysticism 

 surrounding our plastic or developmental period. "Child Study" 

 has been the advance cry in educational circles for years past. This 

 study has confirmed advanced opinions in favor of manual training 

 and nature study for the young. This paper aims to illustrate or 

 support the introduction of "School Gardens" as a part of the child's 

 school curriculum, which we consider as being in harmony with the 

 views generally expressed regarding this natural training process. 



Before speaking definitely on our subject, let us notice briefly 

 what is being done in Europe in this line. In the annual report of 

 the commissioner of education for 1897- 1898, I find an interesting 

 historical report of Dr. Carl Rutland, on School Gardens in Europe, 

 indicating the extent to which they are introduced as an aid to rural 

 school work. In part he says : — "As early as the beginning of the 

 fourteenth century, in some cities of Italy, for instance, in Salerno 

 and Venice, institutions were found in which plants from all parts of 

 the world and every climate were cultivated for the purpose of in- 

 struction and the promotion of science." * * * He further 

 states that in Germany also a great zeal for botanical gardens has 

 been noticeable since the close of the 16th century. Their estab- 

 lishment is usually simultaneous with the foundation of universities. 

 At present no German seat of higher learning is without such a 



