SCHOOL GARDENS 317 



weeders and trowels, a line, measuring tape, and watering 

 pot. An excellent lesson that goes with the garden work 

 is the care of the tools. There should be some place ar- 

 ranged for the tools to be kept when not in use. The 

 children after using them should clean them, occasionally 

 oil them, and hang them up. A few small wooden paddles 

 made by the older boys will be found helpful in removing 

 soil from the tools. 



If the school garden accomplishes all that it is capable 

 of accomplishing, its influence will not end with the school, 

 but be carried over into the home. The instruction gained 

 at school will find its practical application in the individual 

 home gardens of the children. The children should be 

 encouraged in every way to start home gardens. Seeds 

 may be procured at very low rates from several reliable 

 seed firms. The Federal Government sends out packages 

 of both flowering plants and vegetables that may be ob- 

 tained through your congressman. Certain experiments 

 may be carried on at home with better results than in the 

 school garden. Special attention should be given at the 

 beginning of the fall term to reports of observations made 

 during the summer vacation. An exhibit in the fall of 

 plants, flowers, vegetables, fruits, and seeds, from both 

 home and school garden, will prove an excellent incentive 

 for keeping up the work during the vacation. 



The following illustrates a plan to make garden work 

 progressive and at the same time adapted to the needs of 

 the children at various stages in their development. 



The primary children who are interested chiefly in 

 activities in which they participate, and who gain most of 

 their ideas through these activities, may plant seeds, care 



