vi GARDENS AND THEIR MEANING 



debted. 



CHAPTER III. SITUATION AND SOIL. ... j Qwe 



I 

 The school garden a form of outdoor laboratory. Size : -TlS 



tively unimportant. Window gardens in Boston. The 10 ,.. .am. , 

 Sunshine a necessity. Adaptation of the school yar(" Use of tb» 

 vacant lot. Park lands. Transfer of classes. Transfc ition of o. at 

 school yard. Fence or no fence. Soil testing. Treatnu t of the lam ■>£_ 

 Enrichment by manure, guano, ashes, prepared dressings, and str 4 



sweepings. Skimming the land. Green manure. I julating 

 peas with nitrogen bacteria. The compost heap, Garden econoi. 



CHAPTER IV. PLOTTING AND PLANNING 61 



Waste no space. Plotting done with care and deliberation. Plotting 

 and planning the business of pupils, not teachers. Practice in arith- 

 metic. Contrivances simplify measuring. Plan drawn to sea' 1 " Tr 

 kitchen garden ; flowers, experimental beds, cold frame. (,»w 

 cannot plan as far ahead as elders. Arrangement of flowering pi*. 

 Arrangement of vegetable beds. Visit to a model market gsr-J > 

 School gardening must not be merely an imitation of a market gan 

 Arrangement adapted. Self-organized work for groups. False idea, 

 arrangement. Reactions to the responsibility of planting and plotting. 

 Experimental beds develop scientific interest. Some schoolboys plan 

 to raise rice. Plotting and planning a garden is good' discipline. 



CHAPTER V. A WORD FOR GOOD TOOLS . . . 76 



A clamshell for a tool. Need of the right implements. A visit to 

 an agricultural supply house. History of agriculture told by tools. 

 Three generic tools. A simple outfit. Cost. Cooperative ownership 

 of expensive tools. Avoid cheap tools. Care of tools and tool house. 

 Inspection made by the children. Woodworking tools a valuable 

 supplement to a garden outfit. Suitable dress. 



CHAPTER VI. PLANTING S2 



Idle land claimed by weeds. The planting season lasts the year round. 

 Three periods : early, midsummer, and late. Plant nourishment. Crop 

 rotation as opposed to the one-crop system. Foods supplied at dif- 

 ferent depths. Shifting crops. Kinds of crops : catch crops, cover 

 crops, green manure. Devices in planting. Quality of seed. Where 

 to buy. How to .recognize good seeds. A simple rule for testing 



