and garden. Fröbel laid much stress upon having gardens for the infants' pleasant occupation. He even termed his institutions for infants, Kindergärten (children's gardens). But the school garden as a means for instruction in horticulture, agriculture, and natural history (chiefly botany) in the lower schools, is an idea of rather recent origin, and one that is not well understood even at the present day.

Sweden, of all civilized countries, is the one in which the school garden is found in general use. The leading authorities in that country have recognized the fact that the elementary school may lend its aid in upbuilding national wealth by offering practical instruction in some branches of horticulture and agriculture. Sweden had, in 1876, 1,602 school gardens; in 1881 this number had increased to 2,000. At present it is safe to say that there is scarcely an elementary school in Sweden without a garden.

In Belgium, a country which, aside from a great number of industrial pursuits, depends upon agriculture to a great degree, agricultural and industrial associations, as well as the government, have devoted much attention to school gardens for several years, and paid considerable subsidies to the promoters of these institutions. The considerable wealth of the rural population of Belgium arises from the cultivation of vegetable gardens for the markets of the numerous cities of that densely populated country, a state of affairs which is chiefly attributable to the establishment of school gardens and the systematic and practical knowledge gained in them by the children.

Also in France the idea of providing country schools with gardens has found a fertile soil, especially since 1885, when the minister of agriculture suggested and promoted the introduction of instruction in agriculture in the primary schools.

In Switzerland the National Agricultural Association took the establishment of school gardens in hand and displayed much zeal. Its efforts after several years were crowned with noticeable success. This led the Federal Government in 1885 to appropriate the sum of 3,500 francs ($700) partly for plans to be submitted for consideration, partly for the maintenance of a few gardens already in existence. Since then the annual federal appropriations for maintaining school gardens have increased, and in 1888 sixteen communities of Switzerland had well arranged and regularly used school gardens. The movement is still growing in importance as its beneficial influence upon the wealth of the communities is demonstrated.

While Sweden in its school gardens aims chiefly at promoting agriculture, and Belgium and France aim at the culture of fruit trees and vegetables and also floriculture, in Switzerland this utilitarian view has been kept in the background and pedagogical considerations have dictated both the establishment and management of these gardens. They are intended in country schools of Switzerland partly to give the children theoretical knowledge of the culture of the plants most important for

human life, such as medicinal and food plants, partly to afford practical exercises in the rational culture and treatment of plants, partly also to awaken the sense for horticulture and floriculture and habituate to order and floral ornamentation, and, lastly, to aid the instruction in botany.

Austria, it may be said, treats the question from a more general and higher standpoint. The imperial law of 1869 introduced instruction in agriculture into the normal schools and ordered the establishment of school gardens for every country school. A ministerial order of August 20, 1870, decreed that the instruction in natural history in the people's or elementary schools should be given in connection with practical exercises in the school gardens. This made the establishment of such gardens a necessity, and at present there are more than 9,000 school gardens in operation in Austria and more than 8,000 in Hungary. Of course they are found chiefly in villages and in the country, not in the cities. The result of this movement in Austria has been most gratifying. The development of flourishing orchards in Bohemia and Moravia, with their world-renowned wealth of fruit, for instance, is directly traceable to the introduction of practical instruction in the school gardens.

In the German Empire the two States of Bavaria and Oldenburg especially have done much toward encouraging the practical teaching of agriculture, horticulture, and floriculture by establishing school gardens. Prussia has taken only one step, but that was taken nearly a hundred years ago. Instruction in the culture of fruit and forest trees was introduced into the normal schools, and the teachers have acted ever since in the light of their early training. It is reasonable to say that the admirably managed forests and vast orchards of Prussia owe their existence and excellent yield in no small degree to the unostentatious influence of the country schoolmaster, who teaches both his pupils in school and the adult villagers in agricultural clubs. In these clubs the teachers are the moving spirits who teach new methods of procedure, furnish the members with new ideas for rational culture of soil and plants, and generally act like benefactors in disguise. But school gardens, such as are recently suggested, are not numerous in Prussia as yet. The botanical gardens of the large cities in Prussia are obliged to furnish the teachers of secondary schools with the required numbers of specimens of plants and parts of plants for instruction in botany. But that does not seem to reach the elementary schools in the cities and the country. No statistical data of school gardens in Prussia are at hand.

Now, if we consider that the knowledge of botany, of the structure, growth, and treatment of plants, can not be learned from books, any more than chemistry can be learned from the printed page, or arithmetic without a blackboard or slate and paper, it becomes evident that a school garden, even if it be only a modest flower bed, is necessary. Botany has ceased to be a mere conglomeration of names (and Latin

es at that) and a classification according to artificial systems. Bots now taught according to biological principles, which require close rvation of processes and conditions. Hence a school garden is a isite of a good school. Again, so the German promoters of the blishment of school gardens argue, if we consider that the condiis of modern times are particularly exacting, and that competition omes fiercer as population increases; that more than ever before life quires wise economy and prudent utilization of the means of support; at all the other occupations rely upon successful agriculture in the ate; that the state will always depend upon a healthy, well-to-do, and rudent agricultural population; that the industrial population is diectly aided by the state by means of institutions such as special techical schools, and by the introduction of manual training into the lower schools; if, lastly, we consider that it is most desirable to habituate youth to methods of order and thrift, qualities absolutely requisite in agriculture, it becomes manifestly necessary to provide the means for bringing about these conditions. The school garden is as necessary to a school as a black-board in the classroom.

The æsthetic side of education also would be directly benefited by lessons in the school garden. The love of nature and natural processes of growth, and the development of forms, and the power to see a life's vocation in the care of nature's creations and products, these are matters to be learned; children must be habituated to them. The shortest way to that end is through the school garden.

It is plain that local conditions and requisites will modify the general plan, if a plan should ever be prescribed; only this principle must be adhered to: The school garden must not be regarded as a mere appendix to a school, but as a worthy member of an organism. Hence it is desirable to assign regular lessons for every week to some work in the garden. In regard to the general character of the garden it is suggested that it should neither become a botanical garden nor an orchard exclusively. It should assume the model of a well-managed home garden, stocked with fruit trees, vegetables, and flowers.

In the United States we frequently find the schoolhouses surrounded by spacious grounds that afford ample room for flower beds, shade and fruit trees, and not unfrequently we find that teachers, inspired by Froebellian principles, apply a certain space of the grounds for object lessons in elementary botany. But the idea of having a school garden as a necessary complement of every elementary school is not generally entertained, although no country would be better suited to the introduction of school gardens, space and means being available in greater abundance than in any European country.

CHAPTER X.

THE HIGHER SCHOOLS OF PRUSSIA AND THE SCHOOL CONFERENCE OF 1890.1

PREFACE.

The following paper has been prepared for the purpose of indicating the recent movements in education in Prussia so far as they refer to the higher schools. The common schools on the one hand and the universities on the other have been mentioned only incidentally. While the other German states have been referred to only for purposes of comparison, the differences between the various systems are not so great as the similarities, and the same movements that have been stirring in Prussia have been felt, and quite as keenly, throughout all Germany. An effort has been made to present a summary of the origin, development, and especially of the present organization of secondary education in Prussia; to show the intimate relation of the educational system to the national life; to reflect the current thought of the people on the higher schools, and to describe the agitation for reform that culminated in the conference held in Berlin, in December, 1890. The scene therein presented of the most powerful monarch in the world addressing an assembly of schoolmen on the details of school management, must be regarded as one of the most striking and remarkable episodes of educa tional history.

While accuracy has been sought in all the facts given, the treatment is purposely descriptive. So far as possible the German technical terms have been rendered into their nearest corresponding English equivalents, without too great regard to literalness of translation. It will be necessary in reading the body of the paper to bear constantly in mind the distinction, the very sharp distinction, that the Germans make between "Erziehung" and "Unterricht," that is to say, between education in its truest and broadest meaning, and mere instruction and learning. I have in general used the word "education" to express the former, and "instruction" for the latter; but where education is used in this

Prepared for the United States Bureau of Education, by Charles Herbert Thurber, A. M., of Cornell University.