Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1908. 
School  Gardens, 
235 
ical,  mental  and  moral  being.  The  total  attendance  here  was 
90,919  boys  and  girls,  with  an  average  daily  attendance  of  627,  the 
division  by  sex  being  about  equal. 
The  following  table  is  not  without  interest,  showing,  as  it  does, 
the  yield  of  produce  on  one  plot  6  by  10  feet : 
Lettuce  heads,  19;  radishes  (two  crops),  42  bunches  —  510; 
turnips,  25  ;  beets,  25;  spinach,  3  pecks;  wax  beans,  3  pecks;  to. 
matoes,  3  pecks;  lima  beans,  j£  peck.  The  question  of  financial 
gain  is  not  held  out  to  the  children,  nothing  being  allowed  to  be 
sold  in  the  garden;  but,  nevertheless,  since  all  the  produce  belongs 
to  the  little  farmer,  it  may  be  found  wise  for  the  parents  at  home 
to  purchase  the  produce  by  way  of  encouragement. 
The  cold  rain  of  spring  and  the  heat  of  summer  did  not  lessen 
the  enthusiasm  necessary  to  transform  waste  lands,  covered  with 
rubbish,  into  orderly,  beautiful  gardens.  Here  is  a  strong  argument 
for  gardens  as  a  factor  in  municipal  improvement,  but  stronger  still 
is  the  argument  in  favor  of  gardens  as  a  factor  for  the  development 
of  the  boys  and  girls  themselves. 
Realizing  the  neglected  condition  of  many  of  the  back  yards  at 
their  homes,  the  children  were  urged  to  start  little  gardens  of  their 
own.  All  plants  that  are  adapted  to  transplanting,  government 
seeds  and  others  were  given  them,  with  the  result  that  494  home 
gardens  were  made. 
The  general  interest  maintained  by  the  pupils  and  their  deport- 
ment precludes  all  thought  of  discipline.  While  sections  of  classes 
are  in  waiting  for  lessons,  a  playground  in  an  adjoining  field  will 
often  be  an  acceptable  place  for  passing  time,  but  we  find  that  the 
average  child  looks  upon  work  or  play  according  to  the  manner  in 
which  it  is  presented.  School  gardens  furnish  an  industrial  play- 
ground for  six  months'  time,  affording  practical  manual  training 
object  lessons  in  plant  life,  and  a  study  of  elementary  agriculture  as 
well  as  the  proper  use  of  tools  and  their  care.  They  teach  what 
soil  is,  the  reasons  for  fertilizing  it,  the  influence  of  moisture,  and 
how  to  maintain  proper  soil  conditions  by  plowing,  harrowing  and 
the  rotation  of  crops,  a  little  of  chemistry  and  nature's  laws.  They 
supply  nature-study  and  drawing  materials  to  nearby  schools.  Ad- 
vantageous and  disadvantageous  worms,  insects  and  birds,  all  receive 
a  share  of  attention,  and  many  specimens  are  mounted  and  correctly 
named. 
