GARDENS AND THEIR 
MEANING 
INTRODUCTION 
Train the children, each in its own little garden, to respect fruit trees, 
honorable profit, industry, beauty and good order; it is the summary of all 
Gospels to man. — "New Letters of Thomas Carlyle.” 
" Space to let with power.” This sign advertises the re- 
sources of a large machine shop. Space with power. What 
words could better describe a garden 1 The space is self- 
evident. The power, they say, no man has ever fully meas- 
ured. It is a wonderful combination of sun, rain, and the 
invisible forces of the soil. This power is all ready to be 
turned on. All it needs is men who are skillful enough to 
guide it. 
Thus looked upon, a garden is a great fact. We realize, 
however, that its importance does not depend upon its size. 
Small plots may have great meaning. They not only vitally 
affect the economies of a nation, but, rightly understood, they 
give insight into the great movement of agriculture. At the 
outset it is well to remind ourselves that agriculture is as truly 
a social problem as a scientific one. That is to say, it involves 
not only wheat and corn but human beings as well. In these 
pages, therefore, we propose to study a very small garden, 
which shall be carried on by very young people. 
Carlyle hit it when he said that children could be trained 
in their little gardens to respect fruit trees, honorable profit, 
