THE RETURN TO NATURE. 97 



furthermore adds : " Boston gardens have, I think, made two 

 distinct contributions to the movement. They have indicated 

 their importance in directing the mind of the city child toward 

 the pleasures and possibilities of country living, and they have 

 established themselves as an integral part of school work, with 

 the opportunity to become increasingly valuable as our ideals 

 come to include an educational alliance between the head and the 

 hand." 



Then came a perception of the use of vacant lots. Situated 

 in the heart of a tenement district, the DeWitt Clinton Park of 

 New York City furnishes so tine an example of the school-farm 

 idea that it may be helpful to give some of the details in regard 

 to it. The farm garden for 1903 was a plot 100 feet by 200 feet, 

 divided into areas to accommodate 277 children. A flower bed 

 was maintained in the center, and other beds of flowers for cut- 

 ting were grown at appropriate points. All of the flowers were 

 thrifty and were grown successfully. The borders were planted 

 with clover, rye, wheat, oats, and buckwheat. The season 

 extended from July 19 to November 1, and the number of chil- 

 dren participating was 141 boys and 145 girls. A small building 

 was designated as the farmhouse, and in it young girls w^ere 

 taught household duties, a boy being assigned to the heavier 

 chores. No less than 250 girls assisted in this work. The house 

 was equipped with a stove, cooking utensils, dishes, table linen, 

 and all that was necessary to teach the performance of house- 

 work in a neat and economical manner. Each child had an indi- 

 vidual garden plot in which seven varieties of vegetables were 

 planted ; corn in the center, on either side of this string and 

 buttei- beans, peas, radishes, turnips, lettuce, and a border of 

 buckwheat around the whole farm. The child's co()peration in 

 preparing the ground was found to be a necessary initiative step, 

 as his hands were not accustomed to handle anything so small and 

 tender as a seed. The promoters of the movement were amazed 

 to find how helpless the children were when it came to doing any 

 work requiring thought and steady hands. A more suggestive 

 tract on the improvement of vacant lots can hardly be found 

 than the one coming from the New York Park Board, entitled 

 "Report of the first children's school farm as originated and con- 

 ducted by Mrs. Henry Parsons." 



