CHAPTER XVI 

 THE SCHOOL GARDEN 



Children's gardens are an important aid in education, not 

 only because of the practical, but also for the culture value 

 of such study. Gardens have been maintained for a number 

 of years in connection with many schools in this country. 

 At first they were mainly for the decoration of school-grounds, 

 but they have now been found to be a useful educational 

 material. Industrial schools, such as our agricultural schools, 

 the schools for the indigent, for the negro and the Indian, 

 etc., soon put the garden idea to more practical uses, both to 

 train the pupils mentally and morally, and to teach them 

 something that would help them to earn their livelihood. 

 The primary schools are beginning to work along the same 

 line, but the custom is not as prevalent as it should be. In 

 Europe school gardens are an established institution. At 

 first they were maintained to furnish the teachers with a part 

 of their support, but long ago they broadened out into real 

 educational lines. 



The school garden should be a sort of outdoor laboratory, 

 a place for the outdoor study of growing plants, soil, insects, 

 weeds, etc., and for the application of the facts learned in 

 indoor nature-study. The garden should supply material 

 for such indoor lessons and for art study. It can be made 

 one of the best means to develop in the pupils thrift and 



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