There is nothing more desolate than the average surroundings of the
public school, and it would be cheerful news to learn that the recent
pamphlet brought out by the United States Department of Agriculture
upon the School Gardens of the Rhine might bring about a reform in
this direction. Attention is called to the matter by a writer in the
Outlook, who finds the pamphlet highly suggestive. Says the writer: "It
is a common experience to enter from an absolutely barren schoolyard
into a schoolroom decorated with botanical and natural history charts,
and to find these charts and text-books are the only mediums used for
teaching these branches of the natural sciences. The pamphlet above
named shows the practical application of the schoolroom work. The
grounds are cultivated entirely by the pupils, two hours' work per week
being compulsory. The result is that the community life is affected.
The farms and gardens are cultivated with new knowledge; the boys
and girls work in the home grounds with greatly increased interest.
Destructive insects and disease are watched for. The products of the
farms and gardens in this district bring the best prices, because
they are handled with care and intelligence. The first requisite for
such work is such practical knowledge as will make success possible.
The introduction of the school garden into this country is entirely
feasible. It would create a new avenue of employment for the students
in our agricultural colleges and experiment stations; it will make
another avenue for the use of the knowledge collected by our Department
of Agriculture. Our township system would make a practical division
for the control of one agricultural supervisor and instructor."--The
Western Journal of Education.