VUl PREFACE 



may be of such size as to be of considerable commercial or 

 productive importance. Care should be taken, however, 

 that the project is not so large that the student cannot care 

 for it properly. While a few trees or a small plot of ground 

 may not always supply the same aspects as would a large 

 planting, the problems relating to successful production are, 

 for practical purposes, identical. It is desirable that projects 

 in horticulture be carried on by the student at home in coopera- 

 tion with his parents and under the direction of the teacher 

 of agriculture. Sometimes the necessary land and materials 

 may be rented. The teacher should supervise the keeping of 

 careful records of operations, expenses, and disposition of the 

 products. Any financial or other returns should go to the 

 student. Student projects on the school ground are generally 

 to be discouraged. Orchards and gardens on the school 

 grounds, however, are of great value as out-of-door labor- 

 atories in which the student may gain experience in horti- 

 cultural practice. They may be of the school garden kind. 



It is of great value to the student to have access to good 

 reference literature. Bailey's Standard Cyclopedia of Hor- 

 ticulture (6 vols.) will be useful. Many valuable works on 

 special horticultural topics are now available. The teacher 

 should choose as reference books such of these works as 

 seem best adapted to the needs of the locality. Such farmers' 

 bulletins and technical publications on horticultural subjects 

 as may be obtained from the United States Department of 

 Agriculture and the State Experiment Stations are very 

 helpful. 



Special acknowledgment is due L. H. Bailey, for helpful 

 counsel and valuable criticism; also to W. L. Howard, 

 Professor of Pomology, University of California Deciduous- 

 Fruit Experiment Station; J. W. Lloyd, Professor of Oleri- 

 culture, University of Illinois; W. F. Lusk, Head of Depart- 

 ment of Rural Education, Mississippi Agricultural and 

 Mechanical College; W. P. Tufts, Professor of Pomology of 



