i8 CHILDREN'S GARDENS 



necessary is wasted strength which might be put to 

 better use. 



4. To teach economy of personal strength by using 

 the weight, when possible, instead of the muscles. 

 In the many daily tasks muscle is often used where 

 weight would do instead. Usually this means wasted 

 strength, and frequently the weight, when it is used, 

 is not used to good advantage. 



In teaching persons to use a spade this is very ap- 

 parent. When they have learned how to step on the 

 spade and press it into the ground without stamping 

 their feet sore, and realize how much more economy 

 of energy they have learned, they begin to apply this 

 knowledge to other tasks. 



It is this wider application that makes the first in- 

 struction valuable. The energy economy becomes 

 cumulative as one task after another is lightened by 

 this knowledge. It is a good practical habit to seek 

 knowledge that will have a cumulative value. 



5. To teach the value of doing each part of an opera- 

 tion so as to save labor (or material) in each future 

 stage of the work. In spading, the earth can be so 

 handled that the final grading and raking is reduced 

 to a minimum. This affords a valuable opportunity 

 to point out how to save work by planning ahead 

 and making each operation count for as much as pos- 

 sible. In garden work this point will have many im- 

 mediate and obvious illustrations. In teaching chil- 

 dren we need prompt illustrations, often repeated, to 

 leave lasting impressions. And the illustrations are 



