28 CHILDREN'S GARDENS 



The butterfly may come from a caterpillar which 

 eats our plants, and is, therefore, our enemy, not 

 merely an enemy. The fly that hovers over some 

 flower in our garden may be able to destroy that 

 caterpillar, and, therefore, we class that kind of fly 

 as our friend. The bee may be necessary to make 

 our flowers bear fruit. The earthworm, that we turn 

 up in our garden, is our friend. All of these things 

 come to us with an intense interest because they are 

 in our own Garden, or give us pleasure by their beauty 

 or help to cultivate our soil, or demand from us war- 

 fare against them -to protect our Garden. 



If the purpose of a Children's Garden ended with a 

 little digging in the ground and the learning how to 

 grow vegetables and flowers, it would not warrant 

 the establishing of them in many schools. A far 

 broader and deeper national usefulness can be obtained 

 from properly-conducted Children's Gardens, and it 

 is this broader educational value which appeals to 

 those who have watched the work. By taking advan- 

 tage of the child's natural desire for muscular activity 

 in the open air, at the age when its five senses are 

 seeking expression and development, it can acquire 

 valuable and useful knowledge, in this garden work, 

 which appeals to it as play. 



The muscular restrictions of the class-room are re- 

 lieved by a period in the garden, without interrupting 

 the plan of study. To learn through seeing Nature's 

 phenomena, while working under the guidance of a 

 trained teacher, who makes the lessons fit the child's 



