THE SCHOOL GARDEN 67 



creating this public sentiment can, in a measure 

 at least, be accomplished by any teacher or superin- 

 tendent who really desires to beautify the school 

 grounds under his care. Do we not as teachers 

 greatly underestimate our influence in nurturing 

 the sometimes almost extinguished aesthetic and 

 nature loving instincts of our pupils? Do we fully 

 realize how much it means to the coming citizen to 

 early inculcate a high regard for public property 

 how much it means for character to create, even 

 during the kindergarten years, the disposition so 

 often expressed by both boys and girls when asked 

 about some improvement on the school premises, 

 " Oh! please may I help?" 



THE SCHOOL GARDEN 



BY L. C. CORBETT 



A SCHOOL garden should be considered as a labo- 

 ratory in which the different steps in the life of a 

 plant are to be illustrated. The nature of the soil, 

 the importance of the fertilization, and the conditions 

 essential to germination, as well as the conditions 

 conducive to growth, can all be illustrated in a logical 

 and impressive manner in the school garden. Field 

 excursions may be the ideal way of conducting 

 nature study work with reasoning minds, but with 

 minds that are being trained to a logical system 

 and in a consecutive and systematic fashion the 



