262 NATURE-STUDY 



eral, and would help them to appreciate in a measure what 

 the farmer is doing for us. 



Considerable of this sort of teaching can be done in every 

 country school, and where the plan of consolidation of dis- 

 tricts prevails, a generous provision should be made for such 

 work by providing land for an experimental farm, and fur- 

 nishing means for carrying on the work. The present ten- 

 dency throughout the country to establish elementary agri- 

 cultural schools indicates the demand for such training. 

 (See also Gardening and Agriculture in the course of study 

 under various grades.) 



Our long summer vacations could be very profitably em- 

 ployed in the cities with outdoor schools of gardening. In 

 this way many boys and girls could be kept off the streets, 

 and be given healthful and moral entertainment as well as 

 instruction. 



In this connection I would urge very strongly that the 

 children be encouraged to cultivate gardens at home. In 

 some places this is done in correlation with the school work, 

 especially where no space for a garden is available at the 

 school. Many children "have to" work more or less un- 

 willingly in the home garden. I believe that if they were 

 given ownership rights in what they raise, their interest in the 

 work would be greater. Let a boy have the sole care of a 

 garden and sell his produce to the family at market rates. 

 Or let him have the surplus not used by the family to sell to 

 the neighbors or to the markets. Then he would not need 

 much urging to do garden work, for it would pay. There 

 is so much care and hard work in gardening, that it is unrea- 

 sonable to expect children to keep at it spontaneously without 

 reward or encouragement. 



