CHILDREN'S GARDENS 



CHAPTER I 



SCHOOL GARDENS A FACTOR IN EDUCATION 



A FARMER in New England being remon- 

 strated with because he had placed a barn in 

 such a position as to obscure a magnificent view, 

 indignantly replied, " That barn was built be- 

 fore the view was discovered." 



Many features of our educational systems, 

 rigid, angular, unattractive, and not educative, 

 have been so set before the eyes and minds of 

 children that they have effectually obscured the 

 beauty and holiness of God's truth. Fortu- 

 nately, at last the view has been discovered, and 

 old systems are gradually falling to decay or 

 are being broken down by those who believe 

 that education is life instead of a preparation 

 for living. 



Manual training, domestic science, art, and 

 music have broadened the vision, have given 

 dexterity and skill, have implanted ideas of 



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