COUNTRY SCHOOL GROUNDS. 229 



children come together to labor for the neighborhood home — the 

 country school. 



Children are nature lovers, if they are ever introduced to na- 

 ture ; they are beauty lovers, if they are allowed to see beauty. They 

 are enthusiastic, optimistic, altruistic. What I have told of requires 

 little money, no natural advantages, little save enthusiasm, optimism 

 and altruism in the fathers, mothers and teachers, working together 

 with each other and with the children and youth, who will always 

 seek the best and highest as the best and highest presents itself to 

 them, and who will give loyal and appreciative service if loyal, ap- 

 preciative service is expected. 



Mr. L. R. Moyer : I live on the prairie in western Minne- 

 sota. There they put the school house in the middle of the middle 

 section which makes it a half mile to any road, and there is little 

 around a school house except plowed fields. It is difficult to do any 

 landscape gardening under such conditions. The first thing to do 

 is to get the school house moved to the center of the township. 

 Have only one good school house in the center of the township. 

 Have the children delivered the same as cans of milk are delivered 

 at the creamery and have all the children go to one school in the 

 middle of the township. Have a teacher that is able to carry on 

 an experiment station, who knows the names of all the trees planted 

 and can teach the children all about trees and shrubs. Our ordi- 

 nary teacher could not teach the boys the names of those trees. We 

 have got to get another crop of teachers before we are able to tell 

 the children the names of common shrubs. I have no criticism to 

 offer on the paper. It is a good plan to put the shrubbery on the 

 outside of the grounds and leave an open place in the middle to 

 be mowed. I do not think I would plant the Norway spruce, be- 

 cause it is not hardy out there. It is not adapted to the climate. 

 The Norway spruce fails in many places, but I would plant the 

 white spruce, a native of Minnesota. I would add another to the 

 list of shrubs ; some of those red twigged willows w^ould make a 

 very nice appearance. 



Mr. Jno. Freeman : It is utterly impossible for me to keep my 

 seat after listening to this very able paper and one so much in har- 

 mony with my best convictions. I presented a paper along a simi- 

 lar line to that presented by the professor this afternoon. The im- 

 portance of this subject has impressed itself deeply upon my mind, 

 and especially so since my experience in the country school district, 

 but I would disagree a little in some respects with the last speaker 

 on the floor. Of course, the work is great, but the step taken is a 

 long one as advanced by the last speaker. But I believe we need 

 something like an extensive improvement in our small country 

 school district as at present conducted. Most of our school grounds 

 are four by eight rods square, without tree or shrub, and until we 

 can do better can we not strive to spend a small portion of the tax 

 to give our children a preliminary instruction in horticulture? I 



