As Professor Beal suggests, an area of from five to ten feet in diameter around each tree should be cultivated for several years after it has been planted. A row of trees may be planted near the fence surrounding the lot but it would be best not to put them immediately in front of the house, nor should any be planted within fifty feet of the school building, for in after years the shade would interfere with the proper lighting of the schoolroom. Grouped along the side of the lot we may plant shrubs, and as the outbuildings should be placed at the rear of the lot, and usually in the corner, shrubs may be planted about them to serve as a screen. Location of Trees. If the schoolhouse is of brick or stone an excellent plan is to plant ivy, clematis, woodbine, or some other clinging vine, so that it may grow upon the walls and thus relieve the bare and bleak exterior and become Vines. a real ornament. If the school building is a frame building then the vines should not be permitted to grow upon the building itself but eighteen inches distant, held by wire netting, supported above on the house, or trellises may be erected a short distance from the house on which the vines may be supported. If allowed to grow on the frame building they interfere seriously with the painting of the building and will themselves be seriously injured if torn down every few years to permit repairs. The same care should be given in planting shrubs and vines as is given in planting trees. Trees that grow naturally in the vicinity are best for yard decoration, and the hardy shrubs, such as hydrangeas, mock orange, lilacs, and elders are easily obtainable for further ornamentation. Growing near the margin of the yard a hedge of common wild roses would be very attractive at any season of the year. For the flower gardens, bulbs of crocuses, tulips, and hyacinths may be planted in the fall for early spring blooming, and they are very easily cared for and very effective. Bulbs of such plants as lilies, peonies, and irises once planted will continue to afford an abundance of flowers for several years. For fall flowers the children may plant asters, petunias, phlox, and for climbing plants, sweet peas, morning glories, and nasturtiums. No attempt is here made to give a complete list of flowering plants that may be used as there is a large number to select from. On the shady side of the building ferns may be planted and they will be a never-ending source of pleasure. On the margins of the lot near the shrubbery it will be an excellent plan to plant some or all of the wild flowers found in the vicinity. Many of these will grow nicely in the shade of the shrubs and trees. The following wild flowers often respond to cultivation with increased size and beauty: the spring beauty, dutchman's breeches, hepatica, anemone, bloodroot, violet, adder's tongue, columbine, and golden rod. In connection with this it may not be out of place to suggest that there is no reason why in every schoolroom we should not have herbariums, specimens preserved in alcohol, samples of rocks, soils, woods, School and minerals, in fact, a cabinet that will produce pleasure and will be exceedingly instructive to the children. All that is needed is a board of education who believe this to be worth while, and a teacher who is really alive and possesses sufficient knowledge to make good use of these means for nature study. The rural school teacher, above all others, has an opportunity to use out door and in door object lessons, such as are most appropriate for the best development of the young farmer. CARE OF SCHOOL GROUNDS. Children's Under this head it will be proper to say first that it is the duty of the school board to see that the grounds are kept clean and that noxious weeds are not allowed to grow and that everything unsanitary is removed. For the immediate care of the plants and the cultivation of the soil about them the teacher and children may be easily held responsible. The great question that confronts us in this matter is the summer vacation. Who shall see that the lawn is well kept and that domestic animals are not allowed to trespass upon the property? For when young trees and plants have been planted, in case of drouth, they Officers. should be cultivated by some one in the manner previously stated. This is the problem that confronts us but its solution Vacations. is not a serious thing to my mind. It is true that "what is everybody's business is nobody's business," but it will not be difficult if the parents and teachers co-operate to have several committees appointed from the boys and girls before the close of the spring term of school, whose duty it shall be to look after the grounds during the summer. One committee will act during the month of June, another during the month of July, and so on, and the school board of course will see to it that their part is punctually performed. If the children have had a part in planting the trees and plants and if they have received proper encouragement at home in regard to these matters, the terrors of the summer vacation will quickly vanish. And further, if the school ground is made so pleasant and attractive it will be a pleasure and not a hardship for the children and their parents to go there and maintain conditions of beauty and ornamentation. Of course all of these things will not come by chance. No undertaking ever managed to run itself. Somebody must think, somebody must plan, somebody must work, and the burden of the thought and planning and work will be placed upon the shoulders of the school board and the teachers who are really public servants and who ought to be the leaders in all matters of school improvement. It would be impossible to suggest any single plan that would apply in all cases, but there is no reason why we may not see a marked improvement in our school buildings and grounds and in the senti- Duty to Our ment of the people toward the schools during the coming children. years. Many of us have distinct recollections of disagreeable schoolhouses and grounds, of schoolrooms that were actually repulsive, and we owe it to our children to arrange matters so that different impressions will be made on the little people who now venture from home and go to school. Just as we make the parlor the most beautiful room at home in order that our friends may be pleased when they visit us, why not bring together as many attractive things around the schoolhouse as can be brought together? Some will say this is simply a sentiment, but if so, it is a sentiment that will elevate and ennoble childhood and manhood, enrich lives that otherwise would be desolate, and increase the character and value of the citizenship of every community. The following list of trees, shrubs and vines is selected from the varieties at present growing on the grounds of the Michigan Agricultural College. The common name has been given in as many instances as possible, and the species may be easily obtained from our home forests, or from nurseries. Professor Beal has recommended this list: Betula papyrifera Marsh. Canoe Birch. Castanea dentata (Marsh) Borkh. American Chestnut. Celtis occidentalis L. Hackberry. Cercis canadensis L. Judas Tree. Red Bud. Chionanthus Virginica L. Fringe-tree. Cladrastis lutea (Michx) Koch. Yellow Wood. Cornus florida L. Flowering Dogwood. Cotinus cotinoides (Nutt) Britton. Smoke-tree. Crataegus macracantha Lodd. Crataegus punctata Jacq. Fagus american Sweet. Beech. Fraxinus american L. White Ash. Fraxinus nigra Marsh. Black Ash. Gleditschia triacanthos L. Honey Locust. Gymnocladus dioica (L.) Koch. Kentucky Coffee-bean Tree. Hicoria minima (Marsh) Britton. Hicoria ovata (Mill) Britton. Shagbark Hickory. Juglans cinerea L. Butternut. Juglans nigra L. Black Walnut. Juniperus virginiana L. Red Cedar. Liriodendron Tulipifera L. Tulip Tree. Magnolia acuminata L. Cucumber-tree. Morus rubra L. Red Mulberry. Nyssa aquatica L. Pepperridge. Ostrya virginiana Mill. Ironwood. Picea canadensis (Mill) B. S. P. White Spruce. Picea excelsa Link. Norway Spruce. Picea pungens Engelm. Colorado Blue Spruce. Pinus divaricata (Ait) Sudw. Jack Pine. Gray Pine. Pinus montana Mughus Willk. Dwarf Pine. Pinus resinosa Ait. Red or Norway Pine. Pinus Strobus L. White Pine. Weymouth Pine. Platanus occidentalis L. Buttonwood Sycamore. American Aspen. Euonymus atropurpurens Jacq. Wahoo. Burning Bush. Hypericum prolificum L. Shrubby St. John's Wort. Ilex verticillata (L.) A. Gray. Winter Berry. Juniperus communis L. Common Juniper. Philadelphus coronarius L. Mock Orange. Black Alder. Thuya occidentalis L. American Arbor Vitae. White Cedar. Thuya occidentalis Sibirica Hort. Siberian Arbor Vitae. Viburnum Opulus L. Snowball. Viburnum acerifolium L. Maple-leaved Viburnum. Viburnum cassanoides L. Viburnum Lantana. Viburnum Opulus japonicum. Zanthoxylum americanum Mill. Prickly Ash. VINES. Celastrus scandens L. Shrubby Bitter-sweet. Clematis viginiana L. Lonicera sempervirens L. Scarlet Trumpet Honeysuckle. Virginia Creeper. Parthenocissus tricuspidata Planch. (Sieb. & Zucc.) Japan Ivy. Boston Ivy. Vitis aestivalis Michx. Grape Vine. Vitis cordifolia Lam. Grape Vine. Vitis indivisa Willd. Grape Vine. Vitis riparia Michx. Grape Vine. |