PREFACE. 



cultural instruction for school children, cannot be thought 

 of without a school garden. In that course given by 

 the Agricultural Ministry, on which the subsidy is de- 

 pendent, which is held by the indefatigable Director 

 Janovsky, in the six weeks autumnal session of the 

 Union for Silesian public school teachers in the Agri- 

 cultural Institute at Oberheimsdorf, the founding of 

 public school gardens is made a very prominent feature. 

 In Barrzdorf, half an hour's distance from Oberheims- 

 dorf, the teachers have an opportunity to see a little 

 model school garden. Besides this, Mr. F. Janovsky has 

 already explained how to work out a plan for every 

 school garden in every community of the land, free of 

 expense. The District School Inspectors are also full 

 of zeal, and as soon as they find anywhere, even a par- 

 tially suitable place which the community will give for 

 a school garden, they send the sketch of the place to 

 Director Janovsky. 



IN SWEDEN AND FRANCE. 



If the question is at last started whether school gar- 

 dens already exist in other countries, it must be answered 

 that they exist in Sweden, which to-day numbers two 

 thousand of them. The author first learned this fact in 

 1871, and in 1873 had an opportunity, as official report- 

 er of the Exposition on the subject of public schools, to 

 look at the Swedish plans. The Swedish school admin- 

 istration is very sound, and the schools are in a high 

 state of development. She has already gone so far in 

 the establishment of school gardens, that she has printed 

 directions which enumerate the plants to be used in 

 them, and gives the proper explanations. On that ac- 

 count, the system is a little one-sided, as their gardens 



