56 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



EDUCATIONAL GARDENS. 



By Jamieson B. Hurry, M.A., M.D., of Westfield, Reading. 



The Educational Garden is an essential adjunct to up-to-date teaching, 

 and should be available for every town or country school. In rural 

 districts the provision of the land required, which need not be extensive, 

 should present no great difficulty, while in towns or cities suitable 

 plots could generally be found in one of the parks or gardens belonging 

 to the Public Authority. To what better use can a corner of such 

 parks be put ? In addition to promoting health and recreation 

 they would then become a valuable aid to instruction. 



The advantages to be derived from Educational Gardens may be 

 grouped under three headings, although an indefinite number of 

 combinations may be arranged. Such gardens may be used as a 

 means of instruction in (a) Horticulture ; (b) Botany ; (c) Industry 

 and Commerce. The form of garden laid out will vary according to 

 the special objects in view. 



(a) Horticulture. 



The central idea of the School Garden, as generally planned in 

 connexion with elementary schools, is the teaching of simple horti- 

 culture, so that boys and girls may be familiarized with the principles 

 and practice of gardening. The requirements of a cottage garden, 

 including the cultivation of the common vegetables and flowers, are 

 kept in the foreground. The preparation and manuring of the land, 

 the selection of seeds, the details of planting and watering, the grafting 

 and pruning of trees, the gathering and preservation of vegetables, 

 fruit and seeds, the destruction of pests and so forth are all carried 

 out by the children under skilled supervision, every effort being 

 made to encourage individual taste and experiment. 



The fresh-air occupation thus provided, although valuable to all, 

 will be found specially suited to certain classes of children who take 

 more kindly to manual than to book work. They are unfitted for 

 dealing with abstract ideas, but make progress when face to face 

 with concrete objects and subjects. Other children may be pre- 

 disposed to tuberculosis and need an extra amount of open-air life 

 if they are to grow up robust. Further, the moral and mental training 

 associated with such an occupation as horticulture will be found 

 beneficial in a high degree, and serve as an introduction to work on 

 the land in future years. The powers of observation are stimulated, 

 and a taste for rural life and occupations is cultivated. 



Great progress has been made during recent years in the teaching 

 of horticulture in evening schools, in combination with some practical 

 work in school gardens. Such evening classes are attended by older 



