THE STUDY OF lIORTICrLTlRE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 125 



lu the uorinal schools for female teachers, the instruction in 

 horticulture constitutes a part of the course in domestic economy 

 for the second year, and the subjects are treated in the following 

 order : 



The Garden. — General arrangement of the garden: walks, 

 borders, walls, trellises, garden work and use of the various 

 garden tools. 



The Fruit Garden. — General principles of the culture of fruit 

 trees, with application to the varieties best suited to the region. 

 Diseases of fruit trees. Destruction of noxious animals. 



The Vegetable Garden. — Varieties, cultivation, and harvest- 

 ing" of vegetables. Harvesting, sorting, keeping of grains. 

 Forced cultivation — the hot-bed, the frame, the bell-glass. 



The Cultivation of Flowers, — For ornament or for the making 

 of perfumes. 



The course for the elementary schools is in general as follows : 



Primary Course. — (Pupils 7 to 9 years of age.) Fundamen- 

 tal ideas gained in the school garden. 



Middle Course. — (Pupils 9 to 11 years of age.) The instruc- 

 tion bears upon the elements of agriculture : principal kinds of 

 soil, fertilizers, tools, etc. 



Superior Course. — (Pupils 11 to 13 years of age.) Horti- 

 ■culture : principal processes of multiplication of the most useful 

 vegetables. Arboriculture ; grafting^. 



The completeness and comprehensiveness of the course in the 

 young ladies' normal schools is especialW noteworthy. In the 

 normal schools for young men there is also a course in agriculture, 

 and when it is borne in mind that in each of the eighty-six depart- 

 ments of France there is a normal school for young men and also 

 one for young women ; that the education of the common people 

 is a national concern ; that the schools are in session for more 

 than ten months in the year ; that the courses of study are pre- 

 scribed by the superior council of public instruction ; that school 

 attendance is compulsory from the age of seven to fourteen, and 

 that trained teachers must be employed, the prosperity, the 

 contentment, and the patriotism, of the country people of France 

 can be understood. 



The care taken to prepare teachers in France for instruction in this 

 line may be shown by some extracts from a report by M. Boutan, 

 Inspector-General of Public Instruction ; speaking for a commis- 



