65 



while not an uncommon form, is one of 

 the most beautiful of all the Asters. The 

 rays are long and showy, in color pur- 

 plish-blue or deep violet. The plants at- 

 tain a height of from one to three feet, 

 the stems having rigid, bristly hairs and 

 the leaves, which are entire, have a clasp- 

 ing base. 



The Asters have been highly consid- 

 ered from very early times. Virgil states 

 that the flowers were used to decorate 



the altars of the gods and the ancients 

 placed great faith in the efficacy of the 

 leaves as a charm against serpents. The 

 American Indians have always prized 

 these plants as a cure for skin diseases, 

 calling them the bee flower, as they sup- 

 posed that the frequent visits of honey 

 bees, concentrated in the Asters the vir- 

 tues of many other forms of flowers. 



Charles S. Raddin. 



SCHOOL GARDENS. 



There is nothing more desolate than 

 the average surroundings of the public 

 school, and it would be cheerful news to 

 learn that the recent pamphlet brought 

 out by the United States Department of 

 Agriculture upon the School Gardens of 

 the Rhine might bring about a reform in 

 this direction. Attention is called to the 

 matter by a writer in the Outlook, who 

 finds the pamphlet highly suggestive. 

 Says the writer : "It is a common experi- 

 ence to enter from an absolutely barren 

 schoolyard into a schoolroom decorated 

 with botanical and natural history charts, 

 and to find these charts and text-books 

 are the only mediums used for teaching 

 these branches of the natural sciences. 

 The pamphlet above named shows the 

 practical application of the schoolroom 

 work. The grounds are cultivated en- 

 tirely by the pupils, two hours' work per 

 week being compulsory. The result is 

 that the community life is afifected. The 



farms and gardens are cultivated with 

 new knowledge ; the boys and girls work 

 in the home grounds with greatly in- 

 creased interest. Destructive insects and 

 disease are watched for. The products 

 of the farms and gardens in this district 

 bring the best prices, because they are 

 handled with care and intelligence. The 

 first requisite for such work is such prac- 

 tical knowledge as will make success pos- 

 sible. The introduction of the school 

 garden into this country is entirely feasi- 

 ble. It would create a new avenue of em- 

 ployment for the students in our agricul- 

 tural colleges and experiment stations ; it 

 will make another avenue for the use of 

 the knowledge collected by our Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. Our township sys- 

 tem would make a practical division for 

 the control of one agricultural supervisor 

 and instructor." — The Western Journal 

 of Education. 



