NATURE-STUDY AND THE SCHOOL GROUNDS 



By A. PHELPS WYMAN, Assistant Professor of Landscape Gardening:, University of 



Illinois 



Some studies must have laboratories for their greatest ef- 

 ficiency, and nature-study is one of these. The school grounds 



A BANK OF SPIRAEA VANHO LTTEI PROPERLY PLANTED TO 



CONCEAL THE FOUNDATION AND SUPPORT THE 



CORNER OF THE BUILDING 



(cut loaned IJY IIOHTK ri/ri'KAL DKPT. UNIV. OF ILL.) 



themselves may be such a laboratory. Every school yard 

 ought anyway to be planted with trees and flowers and shrubs, 

 and while the grounds are arranged for beaut v they can at the 

 same time be made means of instruction in nature-study. 



What features does a school ground require for ])eauty that 

 it already has not now? Happily beauty does not depend so 

 much on extraneous things brought in, as in giving necessary 

 objects a position that is useful and attractive and a form which 

 fulfils its purpose. But in addition some few things may be 

 added, and these are trees and flowers and bushes. In the case 

 of grounds where nature-study is the desideratum, there need 

 not be planting additional to what is required for landscape 

 gardening purposes. 



