

The Growing of Plants 83 



relation to the economic and social conditions 

 under which the school exists. 



There is some confusion as to the objects of 

 school-ground improvement. The purposes 

 may be analyzed as follows : 



(1) Ornamenting the grounds, com- 

 prising (a) cleaning and tidying them, 

 (b) securing a lawn, (c) planting. This 

 is always the first thing to be done. It 

 stands for thrift, cleanliness, comfort, 

 beauty, progressiveness. 



(2) Establishing a collection to supply 

 material for nature-study and class work. 



(3) Making a garden for the purpose 

 of (a) supplying material (as in No. 2), 

 (b) affording manual-training, object les- 

 son work, and instruction in plant-growing. 



(4) Providing a test ground or experi- 

 ment garden where new varieties may be 

 tried, fertilizer and spraying experiments 

 conducted, and other definite studies un- 

 dertaken. 



These purposes fall into two main groups: 

 (i) The improvement or adornment of the 



