276 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



garden work along the line of that in Hart- 

 ford. Not every man who can keep a gar- 

 den will make a good leader and instructor 

 of boys and girls. That man must be a per- 

 son whom the boys will respect and obey, 

 for there will of necessity be considerable 

 drudgery work, which the average boy de- 

 tests, and did not take into consideration 

 when he took up garden work. That man, 

 moreover, must be systematic in his own 

 work and bring about an orderly system of 

 the work in his charge. He must be able 

 to give short talks to the boys both in and 

 out of doors, concise and to the point. 



Grounds suitable for work of this kind 

 must be provided at a convenient distance 

 from the homes of the boys. In a matter 

 of this kind there would in most cases be lit- 

 tle trouble in finding an area large enough 

 for 50 or 100 small plots each 10 feet by 25 

 feet. 



Then tools must also be provided, but for- 

 tunately these are not costly. Each boy 

 should have a set, composed of a garden 

 rake, a garden hoe, a hand weeder, and a 

 line, for which he would be held accountable. 

 A few digging forks and spades should also 

 be at the disposal of the class. 



In Hartford the school assembled in a 

 small room, fitted up as a class room, at an 

 appointed hour, received their note books, 

 and copied instructions dictated by the mas- 

 ter in charge regarding their day's work. 

 The attendance was recorded by the pupil 

 himself in a special page of his note book. 

 As soon as the early plants began to mature 

 the boys were allowed to take home material 

 from their own pots, but they were required 

 to note in their books the amount of stuff 

 taken. 



These gardens were conducted through 

 the entire season, holidays and all. When- 

 ever a boy failed to do his work properly, or 

 refused to obey orders, his plot was given to 



another boy, for there were always more 

 boys in Hartford willing to do garden work 

 than there were plots. 



In early spring, before the plots could be 

 worked, instruction was given in the green- 

 house or plant-house in mixing and sifting 

 soils for potting plants, in planting seed, 'n 

 potting and repotting plants, and in pricking 

 lettuce and tomato plants. 



The rules, which are printed on the inside 

 cover of their note books, are : Each pupil 

 is required to 



1. Be regular and punctual in attendance. 



2. Keep his garden orderly. 



3. Keep his recprd book correctly. 



4. Leave his tools cleaned and hung up 

 before going home. 



5. Be courteous to all, and if absent or late 

 furnish excuse from parent or teacher. 



It occurs to the writer that now is an op- 

 portune time for our Horticultural friend- 

 to forward a movement which is undoubted- 

 ly a most important one. If the school 

 board will not act immediately it remains for 

 the friends of the movement to take hold of 

 the work themselves and give instruction. 

 Very likely a little money will be required, 

 but this will be forthcoming as soon as the 

 object is placed clearly before the public. 

 There is no more civilizing influence any- 

 where than that of school gardens, and his- 

 tory tells us that one of the greatest advan- 

 ces in the history of the race occurred when 

 men began the cultivation of plants. He 

 then became a home builder, and gave up his 

 wandering, nomadic habits. One writer of 

 the present day believes that the " tramp " 

 is the product of the tendency cityward, 

 which is so strong in the present age, and is 

 a " reversion " to the primitive habits of our 

 ancestors. The children are crying out for 

 gardens ; the home demands a garden ; th? 

 state should insist upon gardens ; and civili- 

 zation will revert without gardens. 



