64 FORESTS, WOODS, AND TREES 
the school plantations will prove of interest. When the 
new schools at Doulton Road were opened on 29th November 
1909, the ground (Fig. 9) around the buildings which 
was not needed for play was devoted to planting. This was 
carried out, the occasion being made an Arbor Day festival. 
Five hundred trees were planted by the teachers, scholars, 
and members of council, each one being labelled with the 
name of its planter. In 1916, 7 years afterwards, the 
trees averaged as follows: 
Poplar, 18 feet high, 14 inches in girth at 3 feet from the ground. 
Pichi) ea wes 7 : 
Ash, Way pee 4 
Sycamore, 12 Fe 4 
Fig. 9, from a photograph taken in 1913, shows the 
growth of this plantation. 
Mr. Teague, the head master, informs me that the 
interest taken in the trees by the school children and their 
parents is very marked. Observation lessons in the school 
plantation, and in the Black Waggon plantation at some 
distance off, are systematically carried out. These observa- 
tions are partly meteorological, on rainfall, direction and 
force of the wind, effects of late frost and drought. The trees, 
fungi, and insects are studied, and lessons on geology, 
chemistry, and hygiene are given in relation to the life of 
the trees. The children and their parents have been quick 
to see that, like the trees, they themselves need more light, 
air, sunshine, and cleanliness. Habits of observation and 
reflection are induced and fostered; and healthy instincts 
are implanted in the growing minds. Mr. Teague has 
noticed a great improvement in the manners of the children, 
whose physical health has been improved by the digging, 
staking, and other work, as well as by the observations 
taken in the open air in the plantations. The children 
become less fond of exciting town amusements, like the 
cinematograph. The civic sense has become developed ; 
and the trees are guarded and protected by the boys, 
supported by the public opinion of their parents. 
Mr. Evans of Wright’s Lane Council School, Old Hill, 
