AMONG SCHOOL GARDENS 



Mr. Clapp reported that about the beginning of 

 the last century many European proprietors of 

 large landed estates instituted gardens or small 

 farms for the instruction of their younger work- 

 men and for the training of overseers.* Out of 

 this practice grew a few famous colleges, schools of 

 agriculture and farm schools, some of which spe- 

 cialized in one or more branches of garden, field or 

 dairy work. The courses of study were planned 

 to cover three or four years' work, and were offered 

 to children over fourteen years of age who were 

 the sons or daughters of the farmers or laborers 

 on the estates. Governments sometimes became 

 interested in these schools and were even induced 

 to lend them aid. 



From such experimental schools there gradually 

 arose the belief that something ought to be done 

 to give children of the rural schools who had 

 reached the age of six some definite instruction in 

 the use of their environment so that they might 

 draw from it both wealth and happiness. The 

 underlying reason for putting such instruction in 

 the schools was not an educational one. The 

 primary object was not to train brain, hands and 

 muscles at the same time, nor to increase brain 

 power through skilful use of the hands and prac- 

 tice in the co-ordination of the little used muscles; 

 it was rather an economic one, to stop the flow of 

 unskilled labor to the towns and cities, to build up 

 the agricultural wealth of the nation. 



* See Appendix A, Note i . 

 8 



