CHAPTER XXXV 

 SCHOOL GARDENS 



376. The School is a place where many of our ideas 

 and ideals are formed. It should be more than a place 

 where we take short cuts to knowledge, that is, learning 

 from teachers and books what others have found out 

 by observation and investigation. Nature does not 

 teach by words, pages or chapters. To understand 

 nature's forces and how to control them, for our 

 benefit, we must get close to her creatures. 



377. The School Garden should be a place to learn 

 what is true, beautiful and useful about plants, insects, 

 soils, birds, sunshine and rain. We may do this by 

 working with nature, by growing a small number of sev- 

 eral kinds of plants and observing their needs as they 

 grow from seed to fruitage. In outward appearance, 

 school gardens do not differ from home gardens. All 

 the common sorts of plants may be grown in a school 

 garden, though we observe and study them more closely. 

 Some plants must be cultivated one way, while others 

 require different care. In a school garden we seek the 

 explanation of the differences. If we grow a small 

 number of plants and observe the progress of each 

 separate plant, we shall learn a great deal about how to 

 care for a large crop. (See Frontispiece.) 



378. Laying Out a School Garden. When a piece of 

 ground has been secured it should be cut up into a 

 number of small gardens one for each student. A 



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