170 NATURE STUDY REVIEW [8 :o— May, 1912 



ning and the interest has continued until the close of school. 

 Then the story becomes sadder each day, as one by one the 

 enthusiastic children become interested in something nearer home, 

 and one by one the individual gardens are given over to the 

 general management, which is no longer even general, and the 

 general plots are "nobody's business," followed by nobody's 

 interest, until weeds, sickly plants, disorder, loneliness and chaos 

 settle down in disorganized despair, and the place that was* a 

 thing of beauty and worth becomes a sore spot, a nuisance to the 

 community and a reproach to the teacher and to the school. 



One neglected garden, which becomes an eyesore during 

 the summer, does more toward discouraging good work in garden- 

 ing than many seasons of drouth, floods, insect enemies, plant 

 diseases and vicious weather spells. These interferences, if prop- 

 erly met, may be made to show the superiority of brain and 

 industry over luck and carelessness. But scrawny plants, grow- 

 ing in a weedy, neglected school garden, stand as a monument 

 of daily reminder to the effect that the school garden is a failure 

 and the promoter of it a weak organizer, an inefificient supervisor, 

 a faddist, an imbecile, or a misguided enthusiast whose ineffi- 

 ciency is as great as his desire to do something outside of the 

 ordinary routine work in the established fundamentals of school 

 work. 



In schools where vacation work is not practical, the mission 

 of the school garden should be : 



First; an experimental plot for the study of germination of 

 seeds and root and stem development to such degree as permis- 

 sible during the growing season when school is in session. 



Second ; the growing of vines and shrubs, which may help 

 to cover or shield the view of outbuildings and form a part of 

 the school ground landscape work. 



Third ; the growing of such other flowers or plants as may 

 be given a start in the spring, and by mulching or other prear- 

 ranged care during the summer, blossom or bear results at the 

 fall opening of school. 



Fourth ; an experiment, experience or illustration garden on 

 a small scale, which serves to create the kind and degree of 

 interest that will impel pupils to plant gardens of their own at 

 home, where there is room, equipment, convenience and time 

 during the season to plant, cultivate and harvest a crop of flowers 

 or vegetables which are a credit, a profit and an encouragement 

 to the child who produced them, and a comfort and pleasure to 

 the home folks who share in them. This home work of the 



