Construction Work for Rural and Elementary Schools Part 12

This summary led to the next lesson, "The Productive Qualities of Soil." The question was asked, "How can we determine the productive quality of soil?"

"We can plant some seeds in each kind of soil," said a child. Several pupils volunteered to bring pots of earth.

Ready for the experiment, we proceeded to a.n.a.lyze as follows the soil brought by the children:--

"Take some of the soil in your hands, powder it as finely as possible.--John, what do you find in yours?"

"I can feel grains of sand," said John.

"Do you think there is more sand or more loam?"

"I think there is more loam," said another child.

"Why do you think there is more loam?"

"Because, when I rub it between my fingers there seems to be more soft material than grains," came the answer.

"Can any one suggest a means of proving that there is some of each kind of soil in what we have here?"

Various suggestions were made, but none directly to the point.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL]

"Mary, fill that gla.s.s jar three parts full of water. We will now drop into the water some of this soil and mix it well. What do you think will happen when we stop stirring?"

"The sand will settle at the bottom of the jar," was the ready reply from a bright child.

"The coa.r.s.e loam will settle next," was a second answer; and then came the statement that the finest loam would remain on top.

We waited a few days and were rewarded by seeing the soil in distinct layers in the jar.

"Now we will try to discover which kind will produce the best plant.

How shall we determine this?"

"Plant some seeds," was the immediate suggestion.

One pot was filled with the original soil, and one each with the kinds of soil that we had gotten from our experiment. A seed bean was placed in each pot, and all pots subjected to the same conditions and watched by anxious eyes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: STUDYING NATURE]

"I see a bean pus.h.i.+ng up," came the statement one morning and every child wished for a peep at the tiny plant.

"In which soil did the plant appear?"

Another look was taken and answer given that the plant came from the mixed soil.

The second plant to appear came from the bed of coa.r.s.e loam; the one in the pot of fine loam came third; and last the one in the sand struggled to a small shoot, then died of starvation.

After this the life of one plant was studied. Thus slowly and cautiously the study of seed germination was made, the teacher getting all from the child possible, and aiming to have him cull his information from the plant before his eyes.

Now that we were familiar with the facts concerning soil composition and seed germination, we felt prepared to take up the outside work.

Between the first and the fifteenth of April our first visit to the garden was made. The ground was so saturated with water that it was impossible to think of working it in that condition. After taking a view of the surroundings we discovered that the plat was on low ground and that the water from the rising slopes at the back ran down and settled upon it.

The question which naturally arose was, "How may this water be gotten rid of?" A short talk on drainage solved this problem. The children decided that ditches, ten feet apart, should be dug crosswise in the garden. They were dug, and, as the weather was favorable, in a week's time the soil was in condition to be worked.

Meanwhile interest did not flag, though it was impossible to accomplish any outside work. Writing letters to an imaginary hardware dealer, stating what tools we needed and inquiring the price, became an all-absorbing exercise. Next, we turned dealers ourselves and rendered itemized bills and receipts to purchasers of garden materials. In this way two forms of letter-writing were taught and the children derived both pleasure and profit from the work.

In the construction period were made the labels they would need when the planting-time came. These were cut from small pieces of wood with penknives and marked ready for use.

A plan by which to landscape this same plat had been drawn the year before by the supervisor of our city school gardens. This plan suggested a talk on landscape gardening and intense interest was at once aroused. The talk developed such questions as these:--

"Is the plan before us a good one?"

"Can we improve on it?"

"Is there any waste s.p.a.ce which we should utilize?"

"Is the plan artistic in its arrangement?"

"Suppose we work out some plans to see what is possible."

A lesson such as this followed:--

A rectangle was drawn on the board to represent the plat. Beside it was a statement of the number of beds to be laid off and the width of the paths between. In the arrangement of these beds and paths there must be artistic effect.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A FLOWER FROM THE COUNTRY]

Each child then drew a rectangle on paper and made an original plan for landscaping. Those showing most thought were placed before the cla.s.s and their good points commended. The children decided that not one met every requirement. The supervisor's plan was again shown, discussed, and adopted.

This plan called for twenty rectangular beds 311 feet in area, four shorter rectangular beds with a triangular section marked off from the end of each toward the center of the garden; and a circular bed, four feet in diameter, in the middle of the plat. It also allowed for one three-foot path running through the center the entire length of the garden, and a one-foot path separating the beds. There was to be a 1-1/2-foot path around the middle circle.

In a further study of this plan the following arithmetic problems were developed:--

"What is the area of a garden plat fifty feet long and twenty-five feet wide?"

"What would be the cost of this plat at one dollar and twenty-five cents a square foot?"

"How many feet of fence will be required to enclose this plat?"

"If the posts are set five feet apart, how many posts will be required?"

"There are two rows of cross beams, and each beam is ten feet long; how many will be needed for the fence?"

"How much will it cost to fence this garden at twelve cents a foot?"

"What is the area of a garden bed three feet by eleven feet? the perimeter?"

"What is the circ.u.mference of a circular flower bed four feet in diameter?"