p:ducational gardens. 



59 



(4) The Economic Museum. — This is a large room in which are 

 exhibited various commercial products yielded by plants grown in 

 the Economic Border and Conservatory, with the object of teaching 

 children to associate economic products with the plants from which 

 they are obtained. 



Thus opium, liquorice, eucalyptus, castor-oil, quinine, rhubarb, 

 belladonna, turpentine illustrate some of the products of the medicinal 

 plants. Rice, arrowroot, cane-sugar, beet-sugar, mustard, pepper, 

 lentils, corn-flour, olives, monkey-nuts illustrate some products of 

 the food-plants. Flax, cotton, ramie, jute, hemp, Phormium tenax, 

 sisal hemp illustrate the products of fibre-yielding plants ; while 

 various pigments such as annatto, turmeric, woad, indigo, madder, 

 fustic, weld, buckthorn render a similar service for the dye-yielding 

 plants. In every case detailed descriptive labels are attached so 

 that the exhibits are made as educational as possible. 



The Educational Garden, with its Conservatory and Economic 

 Museum, is thrown open to the public on several half-holidays, in- 

 cluding Sunday, during the summer, and has been visited by many 

 thousands of teachers and school-children as well as by the public, 

 who seem to appreciate the somewhat novel educational opportunities 

 provided. Indeed, both teachers and pupils often bring note-books 

 as an aid to future study. 



The scheme here described in detail has been carried out in a 

 private garden, and the experiment seems to have been justified by 

 its success. But if the scheme is deserving of a wider trial, a 

 more permanent and public basis is desirable. 



In many cases schools already have land attached to them which 

 might be utilized for some portions of the arrangement suggested 

 above. A humble beginning may be gradually developed until a 

 most interesting Educational Garden has been established. 



Our public Education Committees could facilitate the provision 

 of such Educational Gardens by allocating one of the gardens under 

 their control. In the case of towns a single plot of ground illustrating 

 economic and industrial botany would probably suffice, as it could 

 be visited by the pupils from a number of schools, and would also supply 

 them with the necessary specimens for dissection and study. 



A third possibility lies in the provision of Educational Gardens 

 by our Municipal Authorities in one of the parks or gardens which 

 they control. Such parks and gardens are already of priceless value 

 to the community as sources of health, recreation, and refreshment. 

 By the addition of such an educational section they would add yet 

 another benefit to those they already provide. 



A Catalogue has been printed for the use of visitors to the Reading 

 garden, and will be sent gratis to any public authority interested in 

 the scheme on application to me. 



