August 10, 1912. 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE- 



621 



Versailles, whidi answers a special purpose. 

 Therefore the periodical horticultural pub- 

 lications play a very considerable part in the 

 homes of French horticulturists. There is 

 not a horticulturist worthy of the name but 

 receives his journal on horticulture. From 

 this publication he learns the latest horticul- 

 tural news, and by this he is advised of all 

 interesting^ topics of new plants, processes, 

 and rules, also of special methods of cul- 

 ture, of exhibitions, shows, etc., etc. 



Tuition in Prima.ry Schools. 



Up to what point is "horticulture," as a 

 subject, taught in the elementary and upper 

 schools — that is to say, what is the amount 

 of horticultural tuition given in schools in 

 France ? 



Tuition in horticulture is given in primary 

 schools of every kind. For a long time past 

 people have been endeavouring to organise 

 and develop the elementary teaching of 



agriculture generally and horticulture in par- 

 ticular. 



The law relative to primary education of 

 June 15, 1879, which only came into force in 

 1882, after the pedagogic reorganisation, 

 prescribed and provided for the teaching- of 

 agriculture in the primary public schools of 

 every denomination*. 



At different times indications have been 

 S'iven to the teachers, by instructions from 

 the Ministry of Agriculture, as to the 

 ethods to be followed, which, if they had 

 been conscientiously and intellig»ently ob- 

 served, would have produced all the happy 

 results which they were capable of produc- 

 ing, and also would have had a most favour- 

 able influence over agricultural progress. 



The lists of subjects of January 4, 1897, 

 and the very clear and precise circular'issued 

 by the Minister which accompanied them 

 and contained comments upon them, thus de- 

 fine the role of the teacher as regards the 

 professional tuition, viz. : "The school ou^ht 

 to prepare the child intelligently for an ap- 

 prenticeship to the profession which will 

 make him a living, and also to g-ive him a 

 taste for it." 



Horticulture, natui-ally, has its place in the 

 official prog-rammes both for schools for girls 

 and those for boys. The instructions of the 

 Minister and his various circulars, notably 

 those of April 25 and May 12, 1898, specify 

 these. These instructions say that "masters 

 and mistresses should select some lessons 

 which could be given in the garden." 



With a view to stimulating the zeal of the 

 masters and mistresses in the carrying out of 

 this important part of their task, and in 

 order to encourage them, the Government 

 offers every year, by way of recompense, 

 special prizes for those amongst them who 

 receive special mention for their success in 

 this respect. A decree of January 30, 1S91, 

 provided for the division of the departments 

 into four sections, and the distribution takes 

 place in one section each year. 



In recommending masters and mistresses 

 to select some lessons which can be given 

 in the garden," the Minister's instructions 

 pointed out the course to follow in order to 

 teach the first elements of agriculture. 



It- is, in fact, only by giving lessons in 

 the school-garden that the master or mistress 

 ran give this tuition mot^t efficaciously and 

 lustil into the child a taste for horticiilture. 

 ^iich, at least, is the opinion of most careful, 

 thinking people regarding agricultural pro- 

 gress. This was the opinion expressed by M. 

 Diiruy^ Minister of Public Instruction before 

 1870, concerning whom profound and lasting 

 memories still remain in the Rue de Grenelle. 

 M. Duruy founded the "Champ de I'Ecole," 

 or school-field, and almost all of a series of 

 measures in favour of the creation of this. 



The idea was taken up and extolled after 

 his death by many promoters of agricultural 

 tuition — such as Pierre Joigneaux (the emi- 

 nent plebian), Greorges Ville (Professor at the 

 Museum of Natural History), Maurice 



*A Hat of subjects can b<> h:i<l at Dolalain's 

 L ib r a r y . P ar i^^ , or of the Ho rt i ni 1 1 u r a 1 I. i l>r a ry . 



tako to procure tlK-se for anyone requiring- tlieni. 



Gerard (Professor at the liollin College), and 

 more recently M. Rene Leblanc (Insijector- 

 General of Primary Education), who, by 

 meetings in the provinces, has done so much 

 for agricultural education. 



In a school-garden the master has a power- 

 ful element to aid him in popularising and 

 teaching horticulture. He has here free 

 lands and liberty of movement. The people 

 living in the country, when they are at times 

 in doubt as to their knowledge, say, of an 

 agricultural matter, readily recognise in him 

 a certain superiority in the knowledge of 

 kitchen gardening — that is to say, in what- 

 ever relateei to vegetables, trees, or flowers. 

 Then, have not hi^ lessons, demonstrations, 

 and advice much more weight and efficacy 

 than if they were given in the open field ? 

 Also, as every horticultural operation may 

 l>e compared to an operation of cultivation 

 on a large scale, one recognises what may 

 the result of an education intelligently im- 

 parted in a school-garden, where a child has 

 to do various kinds of work, which does not 

 overtax his muscles like much of the work 

 in the fields would do. 



The school-garden, and the theoretical and 

 pri^tctical lessons which the teachers give 

 therein, play an important role in the agri- 

 cultural education of the child; and this 

 has been so well done in France for some 

 years past that an active and fruitful pro- 

 paganda has been made upon this subject by 

 the general inspectors, academy inspectors, 

 horticultural s-ocieties, societies for education 

 and popular instruction, giving particular 

 advice, etc. 



In approving tliLs tuition the Ministerial 

 decree of January 31, 1897, which modified 

 that of January 18, 1887 (Article 256), rela- 

 tive to the certificates for primary study, 

 suggested one or two of the questions chosen 

 in the programme for an average course of 

 instruction. 



(To be continued.) 



Polygonum la.nig;^erum. — A hot, 



sunny summer shows this polygonum at its 

 best, hence in some places, at least, it is de- 

 cidedly less effective than last year. For all 

 this, it is even now very conspicuous, espe- 

 cially where care has been taken to plant it 

 in a position fully exposed to the sun, and it 

 has not an excess of moisture at the roots. 

 Its distinctive character consists in the ex- 

 treme silvery nature of the long lanceolate 

 leaves, which, under a brilliant snn, are 

 almost dazzling from their whiteness. This 

 polygouium is a native of the tropics of the 

 old world, and has been grown here about 

 twenty years. — AV. T. 



Iritish Influence in Canada. — 



The following interesting facts and figures 

 regarding immigration to Canada hacs just 

 been issued b}^ the Department of the In- 

 terior at Ottawa. It appears that during the 

 last 11-; years 2,118,712 immigrants have en- 

 tered Canada. Of tliese the British num- 

 bered 823,188; Americ an^, 752,120; and from 

 Continental countries tlierc caTiie 543,4(J4 per- 

 sons. The distribntion of this movement 

 among the provinces of Canada has been ap- 

 proximately as follows : AYestern Canada ab- 

 vsorbed the majority; 934,(XX) liaving settled 

 in the three prairie provinces and 240,(100 in 

 British Cohinibia. In Eastern Canada, On- 

 tario received upwards of half-a-million new- 

 comers ; Quebec, 300,(XX), and the Maritime 

 Provinces, 10(),(X)0. 



w h ich ended Ma rch la st i 711 u n g r a t i on 

 touched its highest point with 354,237, of 

 which 138,121 wore British and 133,710 from 

 the United States, with 82,406 coming from 

 other countries. Immigration from the 

 United States continues to be a most interest- 

 ing and signifieant factor. There is no 

 doubt, considering the class from whom 

 these immigrants are drawn, that they, with 

 the purely British element, will provide that 

 assimilative force necessary to impose British 

 traditions and institutions upon the large 

 contingent of immigiants drawn from other 

 and possibly more backward races coming 

 into Canada. 



Durinsr the fiscal vear 



o ■ 



ANSWERS TO 



CORRESPONDENTS. 



Editorial Communications s-hould be addreeeed to the 

 Editor of the Garden-ers' Magazine, 148 and 149, 



Aldersgftte Street, E.G. 



Specimens of plants, flowers, and fruits for naming 

 or opinion should be sent to the Editor of the 

 Gaui)KVi:us' .Magazine, " Endsleigh," Priory Park 

 Kew, Surrey, and as early in the week as possible. 

 AU jMirceJt; must be euflficiently prepaid. 



The Editor will be glad to receive photographa of 

 gardens, plants, flowers, trees, fruits, ete., for 

 reproduction in the Gardeners' Magazine, He will 

 also be greatly obliged by correspondents eendiing 

 eaxly intimation of interesting local events relating 

 to horticulture. In sending newspapers containing 

 matter to which they wish to draw attention cor- 

 respondents are requeatod to distinctly mark tho 

 paragraph. 



MILDEW ON OUTDOOR VINES. 



Some outdoor vines here 



F. S., 

 are 



IJrightoii: feome outaoor vines 

 suftering from a very bad attack of mildew, 

 rieas-e tell me how best to cure this disease. 

 - Dufit the affected leaves with, flowers of 

 sulphur, or spray with a solution of potas- 

 sium sulphide; half an ounce of potassium 

 i^ulphide, dissolved in a little warm water, 

 and added to a gallon of soft water, will 

 make a good fungicide for mildew. 



ONION MILDEW.— C. G. H., Derby: I 

 am sending you specimens of onions that ap- 

 pear to be suffering from a fungus disease; 

 perhaps it is Onion Mildew, but I have no 

 experience with this trouble. — The onions are 

 badly mildewed, and steps should at once be 

 taken to stop the disease. Tlicre are two 

 good methods. One is to dust the plants 

 with a mixture of powdered quick-lime and 

 flowers of sulphur, using twice as much lime 

 as sulphur. The other is to spray with sul- 

 pliidto of potassium. It will be necessary to 

 use these remedies every week or ten days, 

 according to the weather. Do not allow 

 badly diseased onions or broken and affected 

 onion foliage to remain on the ground, but 

 burn them at once, because cleanliness in 

 this direction will save a great deal of 

 trouble in the future. Mildew-infected 



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