16 GARDENS AND THEIR MEANING 



If, however, gardening must at present be judged on its 

 incidental merits, there is one of these, as yet unmentioned, 

 quite worthy of leading all the rest. It is the subtle, sunny 

 influence of gardening which has mellowed the atmosphere 

 of many a schoolroom. Garden teachers themselves are the 

 first to realize this. " Whatever else," begged one director 

 of her associates, " do not make the garden into a school- 

 room, but make the schoolroom more like a garden." Put- 

 ting this plea into words would hardly seem necessary ; for to 

 carry the formal and repressive customs of some very good 

 schools out into the exhilarating life of the open would be as 

 impossible as to carry the powdered wigs and low curtsies of 

 the minuet into a game of basket ball. A whiff of the spicy 

 air and the call of the warm Mother Earth are in themselves 

 enough to snap the ties of formality between teacher and 

 children ; and it very soon happens that in spite of itself, 

 the hand of the disciplinarian relaxes its rigid grasp and gives 

 rein to elasticity, buoyancy, and good comradeship. In an 

 atmosphere charged with these life-giving qualities there 

 is developed, out in the garden, an easy give-and-take in 

 opinion, a cordial comparison of results, and a respect for 

 the efforts of others and for their possessions such as never 

 was known indoors. 



The value of having workmates as well as playmates is 

 something that very early appeals to children ; it seems to 

 them only good sense to make common cause with others. 

 In gardening they must organize, at any rate, for mutual de- 

 fense against foes, whether two-footed or four-footed. This 

 may be done so effectively that in a school garden there is 

 seldom any trouble from intruders. As a matter of fact, there 

 are no more efficient guardians of property anywhere to 

 be found than the children themselves. To put it in bar- 

 baric terms, they have learned once for all through these 



