174 CHILDREN'S GARDENS 



lem, the present state of affairs could never have 

 come into existence. 



No one is to blame, because too many are at fault. 

 Nevertheless, two hundred and fifty years ago, a clear 

 writer and a great educator, John Amos Comenius, 

 gave excellent advice on education, which had it been 

 followed, we would have avoided much poverty, sick- 

 ness, distress, and inefficiency both as individuals, and 

 as a nation. Under the head of conciseness and 

 rapidity in teaching, he says : . . . " We ought 

 to exclude from our schools, all books that merely 

 teach words, and do not at the same time lead to a 

 knowledge of useful objects. We must bestow our 

 labor on that which is of real importance, and there- 

 fore, must devote ourselves to the improvement of 

 our understanding, rather than to the enlargement of 

 our vocabulary. Any reading that is necessary, can 

 be got quickly out of school hours without tedious 

 explanations, or attempts at imitation; since the time 

 thus spent could be better employed in the study of 

 nature/' In another place, he says: "For instance, 

 they (the children) may be given tools and allowed 

 to imitate the different handicrafts, by playing at 

 farming. . . ." 



