STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 161 



for every purpose the school would serve better than cultivated 

 flowers. The eflfect on the health of the children would be beneficial. 

 "Why not convert gymnastic wands into garden hoes? 



A large maiority of our public schools have done little or nothing 

 for the study of plants, insects, minerals and soils, alleging that such 

 study is not practical, but the conning of books and the figuring on 

 slates they claim to be practical. What is the opinion of agri- 

 culturists ? Are not potatoes and wheat practical things ? Is there 

 anything theoretical about the potato bug and currant worm ? 



The right kind of men should be placed upon school committees 

 and teachers secured who are known to have an interest in horti- 

 culture. The collection and study of native plants is especially 

 interesting and instructive to teachers. 



The address closed by urging the Society to otfer premiums for 

 school gardens.— ^enry L. Clapp, before Massachusetts Horticxd-. 

 tural Society. 



GARDENS FOR SCHOOLS. 



During the last ten years the State of Austro-Hungary has reserved 

 ground in connection with each school to be used as gardens, where 

 boys and girls may have an opportunity' of growing plants from 

 seed. The expense connected therewith has been defrayed by the 

 state. 



We think it might be well for America to emulate this foreign state 

 in this one respect. "As the twig is bent so the tree inclines." 

 To foster and encourage a love for the growing of plants by children 

 at our public schools, would in our opinion tend to elevate the moral 

 standard of the people generally, for the man rarelj^ amounts to 

 anything who hates music, the laugh of a child or the cultiva- 

 tion of flowers. In cities like New York, it might, perhaps, be 

 somewhat difficult to obtain a plot of ground with each school for this 

 purpose, but in the country there need be no such difficulty. There 

 are several seedsmen, who make a specialty of seeds for boys and 

 girls who choose to devote some of their spare hours to horticulture. 



We should be pleased to know what the great brotherhood of 

 florists have to say on this subject, and whether any of them can 

 stir up the powers that be, to do something towards initiating a 

 course of horticultural instruction at our public schools. 



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