SCHOOL GARDENS. 34 1 



of a school garden to have the boys work as apprentices to the 

 gardener's craft, although they may later follow it for a livelihood. 



Prof. W. M. Hays : A year ago I began to do a little experi- 

 menting with rural school gardens, trying to arrange them on a 

 simple plan of nature study, but to include some of the practical 

 things of value in the garden. This is not so easily carried out. 

 These plans have been tried in various school gardens with varying 

 success. There has been one planted in this city, at the Horace 

 Mann school, which is one of the more successful ones. Something 

 can be done in this way, but we want to come to the understanding 

 that our schools shall take up this work for themselves, and in that 

 way get the teachers and children in the habit of using them. The 

 problem is not a problem for the teacher of the school room alone. 

 It is a problem coming up in many peculiar ways. It so happened 

 that last winter I was interested in getting some legislation through 

 the legislature. At the last moment a bill was passed appropriating 

 $2,000 for the purpose of introducing agriculture in our schools. 

 The bill contemplated the making of experiments in certain schools, 

 and I was named as chairman of the committee to formulate plans 

 to work this out. I believe something will come out of it, but it 

 is more difficult than we had supposed. It is the opinion of the 

 committee that this money cannot be better expended, at least a 

 part of it, than in providing libraries for teachers from which they 

 can get some definite information on certain subjects, and then by 

 using charts that can be hung on the wall, comparatively cheap 

 charts. The state superintendent concurs in this plan, so that the 

 teacher can get her information from her own text books and use 

 these charts for illustrating and explaining to the pupils in their 

 experiments and observations. If the course outlined is followed, 

 the teacher can tell the pupils a number of interesting things, can 

 show them some things their eyes have not seen, and by means of 

 these charts can induce them to bring these things into the class 

 room, and in this way carry on practical instruction. She can not 

 only interest them in the wild things that will appeal to them, but 

 she can include also the practical things of the field, the garden and 

 the orchard, and the dining room and living room. This is an 

 undertaking that is generally considered wise. T f eel certain that 

 most of our teachers in the schools find these practical things are 

 not so remote in the knowledge of the country boy and girl as is the 

 fact to the city children whether a certain seed is wheat or barley. 

 These little things about nature had better be taught in the city, 

 but when we come to the country children I have come to believe 

 that we are to carry them a new insight of things that can be done, 

 teach them a little something of what it means to get into the better 

 way of doing things. These ideas are not so remote from them. 

 They will get more out of them than is represented by the mere 

 labor. 



We have a peculiar situation in Minnesota because of our school 

 of agriculture. That as a type of school has proven the most suc- 

 cessful type for building up of farm life of any school in the world — 

 and I speak advisedly, for I have visited a great many schools in 



