AMONG SCHOOL GARDENS 



one's fellows as equals, and is essential to the 

 child's welfare. A monitor might, however, be 

 in the garden during recess so that any children 

 who wish may go to their farms. Often, a shy or 

 unsocial boy or*girl would prefer to do so. 



Whether the garden is correlated with school 

 work or not,* there is a waiting time, after the 

 planting, before the children can cultivate their 

 plots. It will be a week or two before they may 

 safely begin. If the children come but once a 

 week their second lesson should be upon paths, 

 and if the day is suitable, they should be taught 

 to make them; it is essential that the garden 

 from the first shall have an attractive appearance 

 which will impress favorably all visitors. At the 

 second lesson, in order to evoke greater interest 

 in them, there should also be a little talk on seeds 

 and what they are doing in the ground. Yet 

 time should be left to set the outdoor housekeep- 

 ing in order. 



In regard to the paths, the children should first, 

 with the handles of their hoes, measure their 

 plots exactly, to be sure that the stakes are still 

 in correct position at each corner. Carefully 

 pass the garden line around the whole bed about 

 two inches from the ground, keeping it taut. 

 Each child should make two of the four paths 

 that surround his bed, say the north and west, 

 or south and east. Impress upon him that from 

 that time on he will be responsible for those by- 



* For chart of correlation, see Appendix A, Note i i. 



i8o 



