AMONG SCHOOL GARDENS 



Bureau of Plant Industry furnishes a large amount 

 of seeds in answer to "school requests," which 

 latter have steadily increased in number since 

 1904, and now come from every state in the 

 Union, mounting into the thousands.* These 

 seeds are put up in four sets; namely, flowers, 

 vegetables, decorative and economic. Each of 

 the first two sets contains five packets of differ- 

 ent kinds of seed. The decorative set contains 

 ten and the economic eighteen packets, with 

 enough of each kind to plant a square rod of 

 ground. Three of the most important Farmers' 

 Bulletins are No. 195, Annual Flowering Plants; 

 No. 218, The School Garden; and No. 134, Tree 

 Planting on Rural School Grounds. One of great 

 interest. No. 204, Gardening and Nature Study in 

 English Schools, Oifice of Experiment Stations, 

 has been referred to. 



The school requests indicate a widespread 

 interest in garden work for children. As yet one 

 may readily count the number of gardens that 

 have risen into prominence because of their excep- 

 tionally fine work. There are, however, with and 



♦ In 1908, 1400 requests for seeds came from approximately 

 4200 schools and ranged from one order of each set of flower and 

 vegetable seeds to sometimes as many as 300 of these, and usually 

 included decorative and economic sets. The economic set includes 

 grasses, cereals, forage and fibre plants so that the children may 

 become familiar with staple crops grown elsewhere than in their 

 own locality. There was enough of each kind of seed to plant a 

 square rod of ground. Requests for from 50 to 100 sets were not 

 uncommon. 



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