children's garden conference. 233 



mulch. This broadens out into the study of the soil of the forest, its in- 

 fluence in the retention of water, the desirability of forests at the head 

 waters of rivers, and the need of reforesting cut areas. 



And so one could go on multiplj'ing instance after instance where prin- 

 ciples observed in one connection receive their application in another 

 connection and so make deeper and broader impression on the child's 

 mind. He comes to see more and more of the inter-relation of all things, 

 our dependence upon the life about us, and our need of studying the laws 

 underl;y'ing all, that we may bring under control those forces which aid 

 in our better li\-ing. 



In a word then I would characterize the school garden as a laboratory in 

 which can be worked out many problems, under control, and in a com- 

 paratively short time, the answers to which are necessary to an intelli- 

 gent comprehension of the great \\'orld about us; and the child's desire to 

 make plants grow furnishes a keen incentive to such experimentation. 



Natural Sciexce Gardens. 



by arthur c. boyden, principal, state normal school, bridge- 

 water, mass. 



Nature study is distinctly an out-of-door subject. It has a nmnber of 

 phases. The first phase, probably the one with which most of us started, 

 consists in bringing in things from out of doors for study, or in raising the 

 living plants and animals in the school room for study. Of course this 

 phase will always have to continue, more or less. The second phase consists 

 of walks viiih the children or excursions to see things which could not be 

 brought into the school room and perhaps would not otherwise be seen by 

 the children; the kind of work which culminates in field work with older 

 students. This phase we shall always have to continue. The third phase 

 includes the school and home gardens where the children are doing the 

 actual work, either in raising flowers and vegetables for the purpose of 

 learning the lessons about them or for some other valuable purpose. 

 This wiU always be an important pail of nature study. 



There is a fourth phase which is now appearing, known as the natural 

 science garden. Your chainnan in extending the invitation to me asked 

 me to say a few words about what I saw in my recent visit to the Western 

 States. I foimd in four of the best nonnal schools these natural science 

 gardens either in full working order or in the process of preparation. The 

 natural science garden consisted of a numlaer of acres attached to the in- 

 stitution for the use of the children and for the training of teachers. 

 There was enough land for the raising of desired crops, for plant experi- 

 ments of various kinds, and for the school gardens. In connection with 



