LONDON CHILDREN'S GARDENS. 
435 
LONDON CHILDREN'S GARDENS. 
The Council of the Royal Horticultural Society, having been invited 
to inspect the Gardens for Children carried on by the " London 
Children's Gardens " appointed Mr. James Hudson, V.M.H., and Mr. 
Arthur W. Sutton, V.M.H., F.L.S., who kindly consented to act on 
behalf of the Society. 
The inspection of the gardens took place on Saturday, September 
2, 1 91 6, when the following Report was drawn up and presented 
to the Council : — 
" On this, the first occasion of a round of inspection, we visited 
four sets of the Children's Garden plots. 
"The first garden visited was in Sutherland Avenue, situated in 
the main thoroughfare, and all the work done by the children could 
be seen by passers-by. This set of plots was at one time a vacant 
piece of building land between other houses. Every advantage had 
been taken to render it both useful and attractive. The object in 
this and in every other instance was to cultivate vegetables rather 
than flowers, in our opinion a most commendable feature of 
the work. The ground had been divided into long strips with 
narrow footways between the lines of plots and a broader walk down 
the middle. These strips were again marked off so that every child 
had a small plot to cultivate for himself. Mrs. Lyons, who accom- 
panied us, told us that there is each spring a keen competition for 
the plots, and lots have to be drawn for them. The teachers from 
each school first show them how to proceed with the cultivation, 
and then each child has to do all the work upon his or her own plot- — 
digging, hoeing, weeding, planting, the sowing of seeds, &c. 
" The plots were in most commendable order, free from weeds, the 
crops healthy and flourishing. The chief kinds of vegetables were 
beets, carrots, onions, lettuces, and cabbages of varied types — all 
in good order. Quite a good supply of these vegetables is thus 
grown. Each child takes home the produce of his allotment. The 
chief fault to be noted in each of the various gardens was the reluct- 
ance of the children to thin out the plants sufficiently and in good 
time, so as to obtain the best results. 
"The next plot visited was of considerable size and of a crescent 
shape, with houses on every side. This piece of land was at one 
time quite overrun by the children of the locality- — an undesirable 
spot in fact. Now it is a joy to the tenants around, everything 
being kept so clean. Mrs. Lyons said that since the cultivation of 
this plot was begun, some four years ago, the tenants of the houses 
around have taken to growing plants in their windows, in boxes 
