CHAPTER XXXIII 

 SUGGESTIONS FOR LABORATORY WORK 



Wherever possible, text-book work in vegetable gardening 

 should be supplemented by practical exercises. No matter how 

 lucid the text may be, the student will gain a much more accurate 

 conception of the various garden operations and the cultural 

 requirements of the different crops if he does some actual garden- 

 ing. If the school is provided with land and equipment for this 

 purpose, the laboratory work may be made a part of the regular 

 class exercises. In the absence of provision for gardening exercises 

 at the school, in the case of high school students living at home 

 it is usually feasible for each student to carry on the laboratory 

 work in his own back yard. In this case he can plant and maintain 

 a regular home garden designed to fit the available space and meet 

 the requirements of the particular family. It is expected that the 

 instructor will inspect the gardens of the various pupils as often 

 as circumstances will permit. 



Whether the gardens are maintained at the school or at the 

 homes, the seeds should be purchased in bulk and distributed to 

 the various students. If the school funds do not provide for 

 material of this kind, a small laboratory fee may be charged or 

 the actual expense for the seeds shared 'pro rata by the students. 



Even though land for the outdoor work may not be available 

 at the school, it is often feasible to grow the plants there that 

 require starting under glass. Some of the plants may be started 

 in boxes, or flats, in the schoolroom. However, the students 

 should have practice in the making and management of hotbeds, 

 and this can be carried on more satisfactorily at the school than 

 at the homes of the individual students. Therefore it is strongly 

 advised that schools undertaking to give instruction in vegetable 

 gardening be provided with equipment in hotbeds and coldframes, 

 even though there be insufficient land available for outdoor 

 gardening. 



When the conditions are such that all the garden work can be 



carried on at the school as a part of the regular class exercises, it 



is suggested that there be one practical exercise (Fig. 193) per 



week, besides incidental items in the care of the plants from day 



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