34 THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [i, i, jan. 1905 



three hundred and fifty-nine radishes ; nine quarts spinach ; forty- 

 three summer squash ; one hundred and thirty-five tomatoes ; 

 thirty-eight turnips ; eleven quarts of Valentine beans ; and for 

 flowers : three hundred and twenty-five nasturtiums ; one hun- 

 dred and seventy-four pansies ; thirty-five snap-dragons ; one hun- 

 dred and thirty-five stocks ; and six hundred and ninety verbenas. 

 At the regular market price the vegetables were worth over fifteen 

 dollars^ without taking into consideration the flowers at all. The 

 crops are so arranged that after the fourth week in the garden 

 there is something to take home after every lesson. Many of the 

 boys leave some of their fiowers in the gardens so as to make 

 them more attractive ; and these, of course, do not show on the 

 total yields of the gardens. 



As soon as the pupils have finished planting their gardens, one or 

 more of the common weeds is studied at each lesson — roots, stem, 

 leaves, and, if possible, the flowers and seeds. The pupils are 

 taught the name of the plant and its uses (if it has any), and the 

 best time and method of killing it. In the same manner the cereals, 

 garden crops, and fibre plants are studied. The children are taken 

 through the observation plots frequently, and the value of the 

 crop, its importance in the United States, and the products and 

 bi-products are explained to them. All observation plots, both 

 of vegetables and flowers, are plainly labeled with the common 

 names so that the children may become familiar with them. The 

 Latin names are also put on most of the labels of the flower plots. 



Insects are also studied and the children are taught how to 

 treat the commoner ones as well as to know them in all of their 

 stages of development. In 1904 more than one thousand silk- 

 worms were grown. These were watched by all classes from 

 the Qgg to the cocoon and the adult moth. The different stages 

 of development were made use of in illustrating the different stages 

 which some of the smaller insects pass through. 



Besides the children's gardens, there are classes in school- 

 garden work for adults. The advanced class begins in the early 

 part of the winter and the students are those who have already 

 taken one year's course in school-garden work, or teachers of the 

 New Britain State Normal School, or teachers in Hartford public 

 schools. This class studies the physical condition of the soil, 

 plant foods, seeds, testing seeds, collecting seeds, germination, 

 grafting of all kinds, silk culture, drafting school-garden plans. 



