COUNTRY SCHOOL GROUNDS. 227 



farmers, a hedge row of blush rose bushes, barberry and the manv, 

 many beautiful wild shrubs of Minnesota, which would be easily 

 planted, easily kept and beautiful all the year. 



In front and at the sides of the school house great variety is 

 possible. As many trees of the native Minnesota kinds as possible 

 should be placed here. This is not only for beauty but for educa- 

 tion. It is said that William Hamilton Gibson when a mere boy 

 knew all the trees of his locality, even in the winter. Not only our 

 city but our country boys often know few of the varieties in their 

 state, whether in spring, summer or autumn — far less in winter. 

 Here is a place which can, with little expense and divided labor, be 

 made an arboretum. What if an oak will not be full grown for 

 two hundred years? It will be educating the children who plant 

 it and will cause our successors to rejoice in our existence. Elms 

 are beautiful from the first and have the great advantage of winter 

 beauty. iSIaples will rejoice us with their autumnal glory and spring 

 sap. Willows and birches are graceful and pretty, even when small. 

 The ash is hardy and regular. The black walnut, hickory and but- 

 ternut speak for themselves. Some of our wild crabs are very love- 

 ly and, of course, hardy. 



Mountain ash trees are short lived but give the winter bright- 

 ness, which we need. This question of winter brightness is a seri- 

 ous one, but we can have willows with colored bark, bittersweet and 

 evergreens and some black or red oaks and birches, which keep their 

 leaves late. 



It is often said that trees will not live, and, indeed, some of our 

 school grounds are cemeteries for departed trees, planted but unpro- 

 tected. The young trees must be carefully protected on the south- 

 west to avoid sun scalding, and on the other sides to resist bovine 

 encroachments. 



Beside trees we should have shrubs. One of the great 

 beauties of England and one of our own unnecessary lacks is 

 in these beautiful shrubs. There is no reason for this. The Horti- 

 culturist frequently gives lists of beautiful shrubs wdiich are hardy 

 in Minnesota. Lilacs of various sorts ; elder, green and golden- 

 leaved ; syringa, spiraea Van Houtii, Tartarian honeysuckle, snow- 

 ball ; barberries, common and purple-leaved ; flowering currant, June- 

 berry, the straw'berry tree, and many another, doubtless, are per- 

 fectly hardy. 



One point seems to me very necessary. While we all believe in 

 co-education, and while the country girl may play baseball w'ith her 

 brother, boys and girls should each have part of the ground sacred 

 to themselves. Behind the school house should be a close hedge, 

 separating the parts, and thick clumps of evergreens and shrubbery. 



