102 The Nature-Study Idea 



laboratories; these are little known at present, 

 but their number will increase as school-work 

 develops in efficiency; in rural districts, for 

 example, such direct problems as the rust of 

 beans, the blight of potatoes, the testing of 

 varieties of oats, the study of species of grasses, 

 the observation of effect of fertilizers, may well 

 be undertaken when conditions are favorable, 

 and it will matter very little whether the area 

 has the ordinary "garden" appearance. In 

 time, ample grounds will be as much a part of 

 a school as the buildings or seats now are. 

 Some of the school-gardening work may be done 

 at the homes of the pupils, and in many cases 

 this is the only kind that is now possible; but 

 the farther removed the laboratory, the less 

 direct the teaching. 



To introduce agriculture into any elementary 

 rural school, it is first necessary to have a willing 

 teacher. The trustees should be able to settle 

 this point. The second step is to begin to study 

 the commonest and most available object con- 

 cerning which the teacher has any kind of 

 knowledge. The third step is to begin to con- 



