WHAT MAKES A SCHOOL GARDEN WORTH WHILE 27 



does not merely fall into line. He must lead ; he must control 

 the situation ; he must cooperate. 



Having seen what the world demands, we must prepare 

 children to meet it. Yet how is it possible for mere school 

 children, for instance, to investigate ? One way is by study- 

 ing some model farm. The model farm not only provokes 

 inquiry, but sets standards and fires the imagination. Such a 

 farm can surely be found not too far from home. Nothing 

 kindles the enthusiasm of young students so much as a visit 

 to one of these industries. Not a thing will escape their no- 

 tice. Let them, if possible, come face to face with the very 

 men who through initiative and the genius of hard work have 

 reached the top of this industry and have dignified their occu- 

 pation. Incidental results of greatest importance have also 

 been accomplished by such a visit. It certainly quickens a 

 youngster's ambition, and it dignifies in his mind the occupa- 

 tion of farming. 



Let us then accompany a class in gardening through the 

 chief events of the year and see in how many ways their real 

 activities are aroused. Since collecting evidence takes time, 

 and experimenting is slow work, the preliminary visit of in- 

 vestigation should be made in the autumn. Other visits will 

 follow, in turn, to truck farms, greenhouses, and markets. By 

 this time children will fairly bubble over with schemes of their 

 own, which will luckily have all winter in which to simmer 

 down. There are plenty of outlets, however, for surplus en- 

 ergy. Some of it may profitably be turned toward making a 

 map of their own land to scale. Then they will ransack the 

 local libraries for books on agriculture, and collect pictures 

 and catalogues. Seeds have to be ordered early. Some children 

 will become interested in learning how to test them ; and they 

 can show the others. Those wondrous fruits and flowers por- 

 trayed in the seedsmen's catalogues bewitch children no less 



