THE EVOLUTION OF THE SCHOOL GARDEN 



that is highly useful and cultivates a taste for 

 an honorable and remunerative vocation/'* 



Perhaps best of all is that teaching of the saner 

 and sweeter side of life which comes when the 

 school garden takes the child off the city streets, 

 away from crowded alleys, vicious surroundings, 

 and, in the country, often from misspent leisure; 

 when it finds happy work for idle hands, health for ^ 

 enfeebled bodies, and training for the will and affec- 

 tions, if you doubt the last service, watch the 

 child's love for the flowers and vegetables he has 

 made to grow, and the affectionate pride of his 

 parents in the success of his garden. Sometimes 

 a selfish interest in what the child can provide for 

 the family table has brought him more considera- 

 tion and developed greater gentleness and co- 

 operation in the family life. It has proved just 

 as well to "stand in" with the little farmer who 

 can provide otherwise unattainable delicacies of 

 fresh vegetables, salads and soup materials. 



All these things make any kind of a garden 

 worth while, and, if we utilize the interest in it 

 to freshen the wearisome tasks of the school- 

 room, there is an added value. The dullest 

 child will brighten as he or she lays out the little 

 plot, figures out the crops, or calculates the gains. 

 The telling of a story with innocent and pleasur- 

 able self interest as the pivotal point, opens a way 

 into an easier and better land of composition than 

 was dreamed of before; while history and geog- 



♦Spillman, W. J.: Significance of the School Garden Movement. 

 37 



