384 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  6  1897. 
THE  SCHOOL  GARDEN, 
Every  country  school  should  have  its  adjacent  garden,  to  be 
cultivated  by  the  boys  themselves,  under  proper  supervision.  It 
should  be  regarded  as  an  indispensable  aid  to  technical  instruction 
in  the  village  ;  and  not  only  this,  it  would  be  an  instrument  of 
education  of  great  value  and  importance.  At  best  the  school  life 
of  the  farm  labourer’s  son  is  but  of  brief  duration  ;  therefore  the 
time  at  disposal  ought  to  be  utilised  to  the  best  advantage,  and,  as 
much  as  possible,  having  direct  bearing  on  the  child’s  future 
prospects.  This  we  know  quite  well  is  not  the  case  with  regard  to 
village  schools  iD  the  United  Kingdom. 
As  usual  we  are  forestalled  by  several  of  the  most  powerful  of 
our  neighbours  on  the  Continent.  Switzerland  is  to  the  fore  ;  there 
are  training  colleges  for  the  preparation  and  equipment  of  teachers 
for  the  schools  of  the  Canton.  At  one  of  these  colleges,  near  Lake 
Constance,  there  is  a  large  farm  cultivated  by  the  students  under 
skilled  instructors.  The  farm  has  orchards  allotted  to  it,  and  there 
they  learn  on  the  land  itself,  not  merely  in  the  lecture  room,  the 
science  of  farming  and  gardening.  The  students  in  the  Swiss 
college  are  prepared  for  the  mastership  of  rural  schools,  where  they 
will  associate  with  the  peasant  farmers  and  teach  their  children. 
France  has  for  many  years  had  school  gardens  ;  Germany  years 
ago  saw  the  necessity  of  such  instruction,  and  provided  for  it 
liberally  ;  Sweden  ha*  over  2000  school  gardens,  and  so  long  ago 
as  May,  1869,  the  Au*trian  Public  School  Law  says  : — “In  every 
school  a  gymnastic  ground,  a  garden  for  the  teacher,  and  a  place 
for  the  encouragement  of  agricultural  experiments  are  to  be 
created.”  “  And  to  see  that  in  the  country  schools  school  gardens 
shall  be  provided  for  corresponding  agricultural  instruction  in  all 
that  relates  to  the  soil,  and  that  the  teacher  shall  make  himself  skilful 
in  such  instruction.”  Moreover,  “  Instruction  in  natural  history 
is  indispensable  to  suitably  established  school  gardens.” 
One  can  imagine,  after  thinking  over  these  wise  provisions, 
what  an  immense  impetus  to  gardening  and  allotment  cultivation 
would  have  been  given  had  our  Education  Department  followed 
such  an  example.  That  “  per-centage  machine”  of  Mr.  Robert 
Lowe  resulted  in  causing  a  quarter  of  a  century’s  delay  in  the 
progress  of  education. 
Forty  years  ago  there  were  gardens  for  the  use  and  instruction 
of  boys  attending  country  schools  in  England.  Those  of  Lords 
Hatherton,  Lyttleton,  and  Ellesmere,  with  the  schools  of  Finchley 
and  Highgate,  were  highly  commended  by  Her  Majesty’s  Inspectors. 
There  were  Government  grants  in  support  of  this  teaching.  For 
various  reasons,  however,  the  schools  failed  to  secure  the  sympathy 
and  co-operation  of  the  parents.  One  can  scarcely  wonder  at  this. 
The  labour  was,  in  a  way,  compulsory,  in  some  instances  excessive, 
and  in  few  cases  did  any  systematic  teaching  accompany  it.  The 
system  was  entirely  wrong.  Sometimes  a  small  remuneration  was 
provided — perhaps  a  halfpenny  an  hour  ;  rent  was  charged,  and 
payment  for  the  use  of  implements.  Moreover,  the  work  was 
done  in  common,  similar  to  that  of  the  industrial  and  workhouse 
school,  and  it  lacked  the  feeling  of  responsibility  and  ownership 
of  produce  which  alone  gives  zest  and  interest  to  the  employment. 
Perhaps,  however,  Mr.  Lowe’s  scheme  of  “  payment  for  results  ” 
had  most  to  do  with  the  gradual  failure  of  school  gardens. 
Where  a  considerable  portion  of  the  teacher’s  salary  depended 
upon  the  per-centage  of  so-called  “  passes,”  not  only  his  income  was 
in  peril,  but  his  credit  and  situation  were  at  stake,  and  so  interest 
in  the  “school  garden”  rapidly  declined. 
It  is  a  gratifying  circumstance  that  the  common  sense  of  the 
rural  districts  is  now  aroused,  and  County  Councils  almost  all  over 
the  country,  as  initiated  in  Surrey,  are  encouraging  technical 
instruction  in  gardening,  also  elementary  agriculture.  Having  some 
knowledge  of  the  subject  from  both  sides;  I  will  venture  to  submit 
a  word  of  warning.  For  years  the  South  Kensington  Department 
have  been  preparing — save  the  mark — and  sending  forth  so-called 
“  lecturers  ”  on  “  elementary  agriculture,”  many  of  them  assistant 
masters  in  Board  and  Voluntary  schools.  After  listening  to  a 
course  of  lectures  and  reading  certain  text  books  they  have,  from  a 
paper  examination,  gained  a  certificate  and  forthwith  began  lectures 
themselves,  and  earned  “  Government  grants  ”  thereon.  Some  of 
these  persons  I  have  known,  and  doubtless  there  are  many  others, 
who  had  no  practical  knowledge  whatever  of  the  subjects  they 
professed  to  teach.  Books,  if  good,  are  useful ;  and  lecturers,  if 
taught  in  the  school  of  practice,  may  do  good  service,  but  without 
actual  teaching  on  the  soil  itself,  under  competent  supervision,  the 
results  may  be  next  to  worthless. 
And  now  I  revert  for  a  moment  to  the  reports  of  some  of  the 
ablest  of  H  M.’s  School  Inspectors.  “  The  practical  knowledge 
acquired,”  said  the  Rev.  F.  Watkins,  “by  these  young  gardeners 
will  be  useful  and  interesting  to  them  in  whatever  situation  they 
may  be  placed.  The  cultivation  and  refinement  of  their  tastes 
by  more  observant  acquaintance  with  the  wonderful  and  beautiful 
works  of  Nature,  and  above  all  the  healthy  and  cheerful 
occupation  of  time,  will  by  God’s  blessing  save  them  from  many  a 
temptation  and  many  a  trial  in  their  after  life.  I  believe  it  is 
hardly  possible  to  overrate  the  moral  or  economical  value  of  school 
gardens  in  manufacturing  quite  as  much  as  rural  districts  of  our 
country.”  I  venture  to  quote  a  second  extract  from  another  of 
H.M.’s  most  experienced  inspectors,  The  Rev.  J.  D.  Stewart — 
“  Occupation  in  gardening  teaches  the  use  of  common  tools  and 
implements  ;  it  affords  unlimited  scope  for  collateral  information, 
and  makes  working  men  handy  and  fertile  in  resources  ;  also 
puts  within  their  reach  the  means  of  adding  to  the  comfort  and 
decency  of  everyday  life  in  their  homes.  The  wider  issues  with 
which  this  branch  of  education  connects  itself — the  preparation 
of  future  colonists — is  of  obvious  importance.” 
This  subject  of  school  gardens,  owing  to  the  rapid  extension  of 
the  allotment  system  and  peasant  proprietorship,  is  of  growing 
importance.  An  essential  consideration,  however,  seems  to  have 
been  entirely  overlooked.  It  appears  to  be  taken  for  granted  that 
the  farm  labourer’s  son  may  dispense  entirely  with  such  technical 
instruction  in  his  calling  as  is  considered  essential  in  most  other 
callings,  in  which  both  hand  and  head  are  concerned  ;  and  that  the 
lad  acquires  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  implements  and  materials 
of  the  garden  or  farm,  and  the  several  operations  pertaining  to  the 
tillage  of  the  soil  from  the  mere  circumstance  of  having  been 
brought  up  on  the  land,  and  set  to  work  on  it  from  his  early  boy¬ 
hood. 
School  gardening,  under  a  sensible  regime  and  systematically 
cultivated,  also  by  men  who  know  the  actual  value  of  the  work 
and  crops,  has  a  high  mission — that  of  lifting  elementary  educa¬ 
tion  to  a  higher  level,  of  keeping  many  of  the  best  labourers  on 
the  land,  of  improving  the  social  condition  of  rural  communities, 
of  adding  materially  to  the  food  supply  of  the  country,  of  invest¬ 
ing  the  farm  labourer’s  work  with  greater  interest  and  significance, 
thereby  enabling  him  to  increase  his  income,  and  add  to  the 
comfort  and  attractiveness  of  his  home. 
It  is  not  for  a  moment  assumed  that  “  scientific  agriculture,” 
or  even  much  gardening  can  be  taught  on  a  few  poles  of  land, 
under  the  instruction  and  guidancelof  a  schoolmaster.  It  is  not 
impossible,  however,  as  the  writer  well  knows,  to  awaken  an 
intelligent  interest  in  the  matter,  to  show  how  much  can  be  done 
towards  convincing  the  young  labourer  of  the  latent  energies  of 
the  soil  that  may  be  called  into  action  by  skilful  cultivation,  to 
call  out  the  powers  of  intelligent  observation  and  reflection,  and 
to  implant  such  a  love  for  and  appreciation  of  the  Book  of  Nature 
as  shall  be  of  inestimable  value  to  him  in  after  life,  and  invest  his 
ordinary  occupation  with  fresh  importance  and  a  new  and  abiding 
interest. — Herga. 
RHODODENDRONS. 
If  a  census  were  taken  of  the  most  popular  hardy  evergreen 
shrubs  it  is  more  than  probable  that  Rhododendrons  would  come 
out  very  nearly  at  the  top,  for  they  are  beautiful  alike  both  in  and 
out  of  flower.  When  in  full  beauty  they  are  unsurpassed  by  any 
flowering  evergreen,  and  when  out  of  flower  their  shapeliness  and 
bright  green  foliage  render  them  fitting  specimens  for  lawns  or  for 
massing  in  beds.  They  are  at  home  in  any  position,  whether  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  a  town  or  in  the  pure  air  of  the  country.  Under 
trees  or  in  the  open,  in  sheltered  nooks  or  in  exposed  situations 
they  are  alike  suitable,  and  thrive  if  their  simple  requirements  are 
attended  to.  They,  however,  do  not  like  soils  in  which  lime  and 
chalk  prevail,  and  in  such  instances  special  preparations  must  be 
made  for  them.  They  are  worthy  of  all  this,  and  of  much  more 
care  than  is  bestowed  on  them  in  many  gardens. 
Rhododendrons  will  grow  under  forest  trees,  but  ought  to  be 
planted  at  the  same  time,  for  after  trees  become  large  and  the  soil 
crammed  with  roots  there  is  great  difficulty  in  establishing  them. 
Before  they  have  a  chance  of  taking  possession  of  the  soil  by  their 
roots  they  suffer  from  drought,  and  often  die  the  season  after 
planting.  If  the  growing  trees  have  been  well  thinned,  and  large 
stations  are  prepared  by  digging  as  deeply  as  the  soil  will  allow, 
incorporating  with  it  leaf  mould,  manure,  loam,  or  even  the 
refuse  of  the  potting  shed,  or  a  quantity  of  the  whole  mixed 
together  before  planting,  success  can  be  insured,  especially  if  the 
shrubs  are  well  watered  for  the  first  season  until  the  roots  have  got 
well  hold  of  the  soil.  In  the  front  of  plantations  of  forest  trees 
there  is  less  difficulty  in  establishing  them.  When  once  well 
rooted  in  woods  and  plantations  in  which  the  leaves  of  deciduous 
trees  are  allowed  to  remain,  they  will  need  little  attention.  When 
both  are  planted  together  and  the  trees  duly  thinned  they  grow 
rapidly  if  the  soil  is  of  a  fertile  nature  or  rendered  so  by  prepara¬ 
tion.  For  undergrowth,  as  well  as  for  the  margins  of  woodland 
walks  and  drives,  no  plant  equals  R.  ponticum  in  my  opinion. 
In  whatever  position  they  may  be  planted  it  is  a  great  mistake  * 
