OCTOBEE, 190 5 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



133 



205. PicKing beans io laKe home. Each boy gels 

 whal he raises. He pays Iwo cents a weeK for rent, 

 plowing, manure, etc. The weeKly income from 240 

 boys is $4.80. The yearly expenses are about $1,600 



work in the factories or stores, or because 

 their families had moved away from Yonkers. 

 The places of those who withdrew were filled 

 at once from a long waiting list. A new- 

 comer is required to settle any unpaid dues 

 of his predecessor, and to pay him for his 

 outlay of time and money up to date. If the 

 regular dues are not paid, they are carried as 

 a lien and charged against the plot, and de- 

 ducted from the proceeds of the crops raised 

 on it. 



On being admitted to the school, each boy 

 receives a ticket and a badge, and is assigned 

 to a plot bearing the same number as that on 

 his badge. He gets also a memorandum 

 book, in which are written his name, ad- 

 dress, age, badge number, and the name of 

 the public or parochial school which he at- 

 tends. Then the seeds which he wishes are 

 issued to him, and he is allowed to use the 

 tools needed. Each day that he works he 

 notes in his memorandum book exactly what 

 he does, and — when the time comes — what 

 vegetables are up, how they are growing, 

 what weeding is done, what he gathers, what 

 his daily crops are worth at the current 

 market prices, and what he does with them 

 — whether he sells them to the garden itself 

 or takes them home for use by his family. 



He is not turned loose in his garden, how- 

 ever. Practical instruction is given to him 

 by Mr. Edward Mahoney, the superintendent, 

 a professional gardener, without -whose 

 advice and direction he plants nothing and 



"pulls" nothing. The superintendent is 

 present continually while the school is open, 

 and attends to all the essential details of 

 management, being assisted by a clerk and a 

 laborer, and from time to time by volunteer 

 overseers, who see that his instructions are 

 carried out. 



MONITOR WORK CONSIDERED AN HONOR 



The police work of the garden — there is 

 less of it required each year — is in the hands 

 of twelve of the older boys, who wear dis- 

 tinctive badges as monitors. These boys, 

 appointed because of their good behavior 

 and ability to keep the others in order, form 

 a sort of reception committee. It is their duty 

 to show visitors about the garden, and they 

 are rather expected not to accept "tips" but 

 to give to them samples of their own crops. 

 A monitorship, therefore, is more than 



206. Hoeing. Sixty of the boys dropped out, most 

 of them to work in factories, but their places were 

 filled at once 



207. Sowing seed. Every boy Keeps tracK of 

 what he raises, its value at marKet prices, and whether 

 he sells it or taKes it home 



merely an unpaid office; it is an expense to 

 its holder. Yet it is a high honor to be 

 chosen a monitor, and no boy appointed has 

 declined to take the place. 



Of course, as the school opens two months 

 before the day schools close, most of its work 

 is done in the afternoon. Even during the 

 summer, while the regular schools are closed, 

 the same rule holds, the garden school being 

 open after one o'clock. After that hour the 

 superintendent and his assistants are on 

 hand, and the daily work begins with a rush. 



With 240 boys demanding attention, prac- 

 tically no instruction except in vegetable 

 growing can be given. But there are certain 

 experimental plots on which the superinten- 

 dent raises field crops, and boys who show 

 an interest in farming rather than in garden- 

 ing are instructed in agricultural work on 

 these, so far as is possible. The same de- 

 mands of the boys for assistance and the 

 limits of the lot used for the school prevent 

 any attempt to decorate the grounds. A few 

 of the boys grow flowers; and near the tool 

 house and office the superintendent is raising 

 perennials, hoping to interest some of the 



208. Marking the row. There are twelve "monitors." 

 These boys also show visitors about, and cannot 

 accept "tips." The office is an expense, but no 

 one has yet declined the honor 



boys in growing such flowers, the demand for 

 which is daily growing greater. But a highly 

 cultivated market garden is in itself pictur- 

 esque, and the garden school is in effect such 

 a garden. 



It is encouraging to note here that the 

 school has had an excellent effect on its sur- 

 roundings. The yards and lots near the 

 original school have been beautified, and the 

 grounds of a public school opposite the pres- 

 ent garden have been put in order and are 

 kept in good condition. The Board of Edu- 

 cation, moreover, has asked the managers of 

 the school to open other schools elsewhere in 

 Yonkers under its patronage. This may be 

 done later, but at present the managers are suf- 

 ficiently occupied with the schools they have. 



NO SET COURSES OF INSTRUCTION 



No regular set courses in gardening are 

 given at the school. While it might be ad- 

 vantageous in some respects to offer such 

 courses, it must be remembered that the boys 

 of the garden school are mostly small, that 

 they are at school, and — most important of 

 all — that they are looking forward to regular 

 work in factory or store. Even their gardens 

 have to be surrendered when regular work 

 offers a chance to add to the family exchequer. 

 It is therefore always uncertain how long they 

 will be able to attend the school. 



209. Watering. Most of the work is done in the after- 

 noon, even when the schools have vacation 



