142 NATURE STUDY AND LIFE 



The best text-book for this work is any first-rate floral 

 catalogue, and the best book for reference, which should 

 be supplied as a desk book to the teacher, is the book on 

 horticulture and landscape gardening that best applies to 

 the region as to climate and local conditions. 



Must the teachers, then, learn all this and tell it to 

 the children ? Far from it. They need only the sincere 

 love of flowers and the first rudiments of their culture ; 

 and then to have judgment enough not to try to tell 

 the children even half they know. The very breath of 

 life for a healthy, vigorous child is original investigation ; 

 and to stuff the memory faster than the power to think 

 and the will to do are developed, is the quickest road to 

 mental indolence. "Yes, but they will ask all sorts of 

 questions," says the timid teacher who is afraid to say 

 " I don't know." Well, then, questions are the best 

 things in the world to play ball with. They are too good 

 to break by answering. Toss them back to the class. 



"Alice asks how deep to plant her tulip bulbs. How many 

 know?" A dozen hands go up. "John, will you tell us how deep 

 to plant tulips ? " John: " About a foot deep." More hands go up. 

 "No ! no ! no ! " the children are saying to themselves, and John gets 

 red in the face. " How do you know tulips should be planted a foot 

 deep, John? Did you ever plant any?" "No, ma'am." "Well, 

 then, you don't know but only guessed about it, John ; is that true ? " 

 " Yes, ma'am." " Well, perhaps we had better not waste any more 

 time guessing. How many raised tulips last year ? " Hands again 

 go up. " Mary, will you please tell us how deep you planted yours ? " 

 " I planted my tulips six inches deep." " Did they grow well ? " 

 " Yes, they all came up the next spring, and every one blossomed." 

 " How many agree that six inches deep is about right to plant tulips ? 

 Well, every one seems to think you are right. Mary, how did you 

 find out ? " "I saw Mrs. Johnson planting some one day and watched 



