PKEFACE vii 



convenient source of material for recitations. Few schools are 

 so situated as to make the possession of a school garden abso- 

 lutely impossible. If the school grounds are not large enough, 

 a vacant lot in the vicinity may be secured by rent or pur- 

 chase, or the home garden of one of the pupils may be used. 

 Some successfully managed school gardens are ten minutes' 

 walk from the school building. Wherever located the garden 

 ought to be securely fenced against the depredations of the 

 small boy and other irresponsible folk, and a certain degree 

 of permanency should be secured for the plantings, if possi- 

 ble, since at least part of the plants grown will be perennials, 

 which improve with the years if left undisturbed. Whenever 

 practicable, the school garden should be a part of the school 

 property. 



Classes seldom need to be encouraged to take an interest 

 in gardening, but the teacher should see to it that the work 

 is properly planned in advance, that time is allowed for culti- 

 vating the crops, and that such experiments are carried on in 

 the experimental plots as will deepen the interest and value 

 of the work to the student. The food, fiber, and drug plants 

 little known in the region may be grown, the many varieties 

 of common vegetables may be tested, and attractive flowers 

 cultivated. Room should also be found for growing all sorts 

 of aberrant plants that may be discovered by the class, such 

 as those possessing double flowers, fasciated stems, color varia- 

 tions, and variations in the cutting of leaves. As a general 

 thing, the crops planted should be such as mature before 

 school closes for the summer or which do not mature until 

 autumn. In the first group are lettuce, spinach, cress, radishes, 

 onions, and turnips ; in the second are carrots, parsnips, and 

 salsify. The many forms of radishes now offered by seeds- 

 men are excellent subjects for showing the great variation 

 that may occur in a single plant part. A few experiments 

 may be carried on for a series of years, especially such as 



