The chief tools and implements requisite to the school garden are hoes, rakes, hand weeders, garden lines, one or two spades and shovels, a wheelbarrow, hammer, saw, nails, etc. The pupils, as a rule, require only hoes, rakes and hand weeders. Those pupils who are sufficiently mature to work a plot by themselves, or along with a companion, can get along very well with hoes and rakes of the average size. In one case, where smaller tools were supplied, the pupils abandoned them after a little practice for those of the standard size.
While the plan of laying out the gardens varies according to soil, surface and location, the arrangement of the Bowesville garden suggests the general features that have been kept in view. These include a belt of ornamental native trees and shrubs surrounding the grounds two walks, each about one hundred yards long, between rows of trees a playground about half an acre in area for boys; a lawn of about a quarter of an acre for the girls, bordered with some light and graceful shade, such as the cut-leaf birch; a small orchard, in which are grown a few varieties of the fruit trees most profitable to the district; a forest plot, in which the most important Canadian trees will be grown from seed and by transplanting; a plot for cultivating the wild herbs, vines and shrubs of the district; space for individual plots and special experimental plots; an attractive approach to the school, including open lawn, large flowering plants, foliage, rockery, ornamental shrubs, etc.
The special experimental plots are, as a rule, larger than the individual plots. They are used for such purposes as the special study of rotation of crops, values of fertilisers, effects of spraying, selection of seeds, merits of soils, productiveness and quality of different varieties of crops, and many other similar subjects. At one school a special study was made of corn, clover, tomatoes, and cabbage at another beans, peas, beets, and potatoes occupied the experimental plots; and at still another, some extra attention was given to plots of pumpkins, squash, cabbage, and cauliflower. At all the gardens special plots will be devoted to small fruits, such as strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, and currants. The experimental plots vary in area from 200 to 2,000 square feet, but where the extent of ground is restricted the experiments may be successfully carried out on plots of a much smaller average size.
The gardens are managed throughout on the basis of individual ownership, individual effort and individual responsibility on the part of the pupils. At all the gardens the pupils are given plots that are solely their own. According to the age and strength of the pupils, these plots vary in size from 72 square feet to 120 square feet. At some schools each pupil has two plots, one for vegetables, etc., and the other for flowers. In other cases the flowers and vegetables are kept in different parts of the same plot. The former plan presents no inconvenience, and is found to contribute to the general appearance of the garden. At one of the school gardens the pupils’ plots were uniformly 10 feet wide by 20 feet in length, each plot being worked in partnership, a junior pupil working with a senior pupil in each case. Though very good results were secured by this method, the instructor considers the individual method preferable, and will pursue it in future.
NOVA SCOTIA
Nature-study is here taken very seriously. The following extracts from a leaflet issued to every teacher in the province by the Educational Department will show how thoroughly and systematically the matter is dealt with.
LOCAL “NATURE” OBSERVATIONS
This sheet is provided for the purpose of aiding teachers to interest their pupils in observing the times of the regular procession of natural phenomena each season. First, it may help the teacher in doing some of the “Nature” lesson work of the Course of Study; secondly, it may aid in procuring valuable information for the locality and province. Two copies are provided for each teacher who wishes to conduct such observations, one to be preserved as the property of the section for reference from year to year; the other to be sent in with the return to the inspector, who will transmit it to the superintendent for examination and compilation.
What is desired is to have recorded in these forms the dates of the first leafing, flowering and fruiting of plants and trees; the first appearance in the locality of birds migrating north in spring or south in autumn, etc. While the objects specified here are given so as to enable comparison to be made between the different sections of the province, it is very desirable that other local phenomena of a similar kind be recorded. Every locality has a flora, fauna, climate, etc., more or less distinctly its own; and the more common trees, shrubs, plants, crops, etc., are those which will be most valuable from a local point of view in comparing the characters of a series of seasons.
Teachers will find it one of the most convenient means for the stimulation of pupils in observing all natural phenomena when going to and from the school, and some pupils radiate as far as two miles from the schoolroom. The “nature-study” under these conditions would thus be mainly undertaken at the most convenient time, without encroaching on school time; while on the other hand it will tend to break up the monotony of school travel, fill an idle and wearisome hour with interest, and be one of the most valuable forms of educational discipline. The eyes of a whole school daily passing over a whole school section will let very little escape notice, especially if the first observer of each annually recurring phenomenon receives credit as the first observer of it for the year. The observations will be accurate, as the facts must be demonstrated by the most undoubted evidence, such as the bringing of the specimens to the school when possible or necessary.