BOOK REVIEWS 



School Gardening for Little Children. By Lucy R. Latter. london: 

 Swan Sonnenschein & Co., 1906. 



[Editorial Note — A review of this book was published in the April issue, but 

 the manuscript of the following was received a few days too late for publication 

 in April. It strikes the editor as a useful and accurate criticism supplementing 

 the review already published. The desirability of book reviews by more than 

 one writer has often been suggested; and the managing editor takes this opportu- 

 nity to invite readers to send their own ^upplementary or critical notes on any 

 reviews published in this journal.] 



This book on school-gardening for little children has many good points, 

 but in general it is not a safe guide for nature-study as we would see it taught 

 in America. The best points are ( i ) that the children do actually work 

 with the objects under consideration and also do the related manual work, 

 which we are not always careful to include in our nature-study work in this 

 country; and (2) that not only the life-history of every plant studied is 

 definitely shown, but the fruits of one year are used in the next season's 

 planting. 



While in New York last winter Miss Latter described her work, giving 

 several facts which materially aifect the estimation of value of the lessons 

 described in her book. The ages of the children range from four to eight 

 years; less than six pupils from each class-room have any part in the out- 

 door garden work; and the same work is done in the different grades but 

 **taken up from different standpoints." Spending weekly the amount of 

 time indicated on page 18 (three hours or three hours and forty-five minutes) 

 it would puzzle a high-school or college instructor to spend a month upon 

 either the earthworm or the radish with * 'additional work in August and 

 September." Add to this the problem of a different point of view for each 

 of the grades and the despair of the most capable instructor would be com- 

 plete. The topics suggested under the subject, the sun, are more varied, 

 but it would be difficult to hold an American child to three months' work 

 on even the fifteen topics given. The English children apparently study the 

 caterpillar for seven days (or lessons) before the shape and color are thought 

 of; the fourth lesson on the daffodil brings out the color and shape of the 

 flower; the fifth tells the children where the "seed-box" is; but they are 

 not allowed to prove this, even though it is the first flower studied by many 

 of the children, because (page 61) "no child is ever allowed to pull a flower 

 to pieces; indeed it should not be permitted in any infants' school." This 



