Teachers' cottages in Washington

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STATE OF[WASHINGTON

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

TEACHERS' COTTJl^ES

IN WASHINGTON*"™"

By JOSEPHINE CORLISS

SI I'l IJINTIMIKNT OF PUBLIC INSTKl CT

COTTACJK A'l' FIR OCCUI'IKh 15V .M. II. .MMJDAN AND HIS FAMILY
AND Till-: I'KI.MAKV TKACI IKIl.

BULLETIN No. 27

1915

OLYMPIA.

XK M. I-AMltOUN tq^^eu ITBLIC PRINTKH

1915

STA/TK OK WASHINGTON

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

TEACHERS' COTTAGES

IN WASHINGTON

BY

JOSEPHINE CORLISS PRESTON

SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

No. 27
1915

OLV.MPIA

FRANK M. LAMBORN ..^^^. PUBLIC PRINTER
1915

CONTENTS.

Page

INTRODUCTION 5

Washington Has 108 Cottages 5

Three Home Essentials 5

No More "Boarding Around" 5

Winter Is Farmers' Holiday ' 6

A Fight at Breakfast Table 6

Preferred a Lonely Shack 7

Wealthy Homes Not for Teachers 7

All Went Well Until Rains Came 8

First Cottage Was Result 9

COTTAGE ASSURES LIVING PLACE FOR TEACHER 10

Boarding Place the Test 10

Shack Room for Family Only 10

Changing the Boarding Place 12

Farmer's Wife's Point of View 13

COTTAGE ATTRACTS BETTER TEACHERS 14

Cottaged District Has Choice 14

Married Men Attracted by Cottages 14

Nearly Faints with Surprise 15

Less Salary, but Cottage Draws 16

Honeymoon Cottage 17

COTTAGE INCREASES EFFICIENCY OF TEACHER 18

Privacy Conserves Teacher's Strength 18

Five O'clock Breakfasts 18

Went Five Miles to Town to Board 19

WIDER USE OF SCHOOL PLANT 20

Community Use of School 20

Teacher in Cottage a Help 20

Out of Quarrels 21

A Social Center for the district 22

WHAT SOME OF THE COTTAGES ARE LIKE 23

Addition to Schoolhouse 23

Will Have Hot Air Heating 23

Double House of Eight Rooms 23

Old Schoolhouse Turned into Cottage 24

Upper Story of Schoolhouse Used 24

Only One Room 25.

Cedar Shake Cottage 25

Shacks and a Lean-to. . 25

WHATB SOME OF THE COTTAGES ARE LIKE— CONTINUED: Page

Flowering Plants in This Cottage 25

A Tent House 25

Cottages by Counties 26

WHAT SUPERINTENDENTS SAY 2,8

Step Toward All-the-year Service 28

Solution of Many Problems 28

As Essential as Schoolhouse 28

ARCHITECT'S PLANS, ESTIMATES, AND DRAWINGS 30

Cottage for Small District 30

The Double Cottage 32

What the District Should Furnish 32

Cost, and Price of Plans 34

THE TEACHER'S GARDEN 36

A Simple Plan 36

Room for Fruit Trees 38

For a Child's Garden 36

For General Planting 37

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Cottage at Fir . Front Cover

Page

First Teacher's Cottage 8

Cottage at Oak Point 11

Cottage Near Edwall 12

Cottage Near Anacortes 16

"Honeymoon Cottage" at Lamar 17

Cottage Near Brewster 21

Double Cottage at Eureka 24

Model Single Cottage 30

Floor Plan for Small Cottage 31

View of Model Double Cottage 32

Second Floor Plan for Double Cottage 33

First Floor Plan for Double Cottage 33

Plan for Teacher's Garden.. 35

INTRODUCTION

Washington Has 108 Cottages.

The State of Washington is proud of the fact that it has 108
teachers' cottages. Ever since the first permanent cottage was built
in our state, in Walla Walla county, in 1905, the idea has steadily
grown. I have had many letters, and requests for information re-
garding this great rural welfare movement. Therefore, it has seemed
advisable to prepare this bulletin, since such deep interest in the sub-
ject is everywhere manifest.

The greatest problem in education today is the rural school. The
greatest need is for teachers with initiative, leadership, experience,
high ideals, character, broad sympathy, and education. Where shall
we get them? Such teachers are to be found in the profession, many
of them. Some are in the rural schools. But, on the whole, they have
not been particularly attracted to the rural schools. Why?

Three Home Essentials.

It is only within recent years that we have recognized the import-
ance of the rural school problem. Since we have awakened to its
importance we have been adjusting our courses of study to meet the
needs of rural life, and urging the wejf trained and experienced teach-
er to go into the country to* teach. In the event that we persuade
such a teacher to accept one of these country schools let us consider
for a minute the community that receives her. She probably finds a
well equipped school building, for Washington boasts of its generosity
in the support and equipment of its schools. After the buildings and
grounds have been inspected she casts about to settle the important
question as to where she is to live. She knows that she must have
a comfortable place if she is to do her best work.
First, she must have good, wholesome food.

Secondly, she needs a comfortable room to herself.

Thirdly, and not the least important, her room must be heated in
cold and chilly weather, for she will spend two thirds of her time at
her boarding place.

No More "Boarding Around."

Does the teacher find these conditions? She does, sometimes.
Some of the briglit spots in our rural life in this state have been the
delightful places in which our teachers have boarded. In recent years,
however, it is frequently the case that the teacher who has gone out
into the rural school has not found the best homes open to her.

In the early history of our rural schools the pioneer teachers
"Boarded Around." Maybe some ,who read this bulletin have had

6

that experience in recent years. You recall that if the family who
took the teacher for a particular week had comfortable and sanitary
accommodations, and the housewife had acquired the art of cooking,
you enjoyed it, but, if you had to be in crowded quarters with poorly
prepared meals, you were relieved when it was time for you to go to
the next place. We outgrew the "Boarding Around" plan and it be-
came the custom for the teacher to board in one place, if that were
possible, thruout the term.

Winter Is Farmers' Holiday.

I recall the time when it seemed that every family in the neigh-
borhood wanted to take the teacher to board. It made it a little awk-
ward at times to decide, and frequently the decision, or the change
after the decision was made, caused trouble for the teacher in the neigh-
borhood. Finally we reached that period in the boarding problem
when we found that the farmer's wife was mildly protesting against
the teacher boarder. Sometimes it was because the teacher had
come out to teach the school expecting to find first class hotel service
in the busy farm home, and either changed her point of view, and ad-
justed herself to conditions, or she made life miserable for that home.

However, the real reason for this growing discontent with taking
the teacher to board was because the farmer's wife worked hard and
for many long hours during the spring, summer, and fall months, and
she had found that the winter was her season of holiday. She rebelled
at the idea of being tied down all winter with a teacher boarder. We
hear occasionally a controversy something like this: Mrs. A. says,
"I boarded the teacher last year, and Mrs. B can take her turn at it
this year." Mrs. B says, "I boarded the teacher year before last, and
it is Mrs. C's turn this year." Poor, timid Mrs. C says "I would
gladly take the teacher but we have ten children, and only two bed-
rooms, and I hardly see how we could accommodate her."

A Fight at Breakfast Table.

This unwillingness to board the teacher brings many stories of
unhappy experiences to the county superintendent's office. My early
experience in the work as county superintendent convinced me that
the difference between the good boarding place and the bad boarding
place meant the success or the failure of the average teacher. During
the second year of my county work, a very capable young woman
from an eastern state, with a fine teaching record of several years of
experience, took a school in one of our districts. The family that had
taken the teacher previously could not board this young woman, and
she was sent into an untried boarding place. She came to the office
the following Saturday almost on the verge of a nervous collapse.
The members of the family where she boarded were quarrelsome.
The second morning that she was there, trouble arose with the hired

man. There was a fistic encounter at the breakfast table. The teacher
was completely unnerved in her fear that the man would be murdered.
A new boarding place was secured for her.

Preferred Lonely Shack.

I recall another teacher's occupying the attic bedroom with the
children. The only place she had to spend her evenings was in the
room which served as kitchen, dining room, and living room. The first
Sunday evening she spent at this home the family had a call from
neighbors. The men imbided so freely that an all night revelry en-
sued. She moved into a lonely shack by the schoolhouse, and simply
braved the year thru. I felt considerably aroused. I felt that the
boarding problem was an economic problem, a human problem, a
community problem, a social problem. How could it be solved?

The magnitude of the boarding problem in the rural districts is
recognized everywhere. In attempting to explain the need of the
rural teacher for a home to a Tacoma woman I received this reply:
"You do not need to tell me. Didn't I sleep in a wheat bin for two
weeks, once, while the farmer was building a lean-to where I might
sleep? If anyone thinks that a wheat bin, with rats running around
in it, is an attractive place in which to sleep, let him try to stay
there just one night."

Wealthy Homes Not for Teachers.

Well do I recall when, in my early experience as assistant super-
intendent of Walla Walla county schools, a young woman came to me
on the Saturday before her school was to open, discouraged, humili-
ated, and grieved. No one in the neighborhood in which she was to
teach wanted to board her. It was one of our wealthiest districts,
and many families had good, comfortable houses with extra bedrooms.

The family that had boarded the teacher had moved to town that
the children might attend high school. Every other door in the dis-
trict was closed to the teacher! She did not know what to do; I did
not know what to do. The man who had boarded the teacher in
former years was chagrined and out of patience. He had served the
district for many years as director and knew well that there were many
families there who could take the teacher if they were so inclined.
He made a few caustic remarks about the need of more community
interest, and unselfishness. We had a -number of vacancies in the
county. So I urged this teacher to accept one of these places. I con-
sidered that this district had failed in its duty to her. After we had
come practically to the conclusion that this was the thing to do, the
teacher was seized with an idea. She said:

"Across the road from the schoolhouse is a farm home. In the
yard I saw a portable cookhouse. If the district will move this cook-
house into the school yard I will furnish it, and live in it." The
director demurred. He said he would be ashamed to have his district

8

force the teacher to live in such uncomfortable and lonely quarters.
The plan appealed to me, however. I encouraged the teacher, and
helped persuade the director that this was the thing to do.

All Went Well Until Rains Came.

\

The little cookhouse was brought into the school yard, placed be-
side the schoolhouse, and banked up. On Monday afternoon the
teacher moved in. Very humble it was, this rude little cookhouse
that had been drawn in from the fields after its summer service in

MISS CASSANDRA MESSEGEE, ILLUSTRATING HER HOME IN THE FIRST
TEACHER'S COTTAGE IN WASHINGTON, WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

the wheat harvest. The roof was canvass, while the door and upper
half of the walls were screening. This screen was covered with can-
vas, and the walls were boarded up.

And now this brave young woman had a room twenty feet long.
She partitioned it with a curtain. She put in a stove, a dresser, a table,
and two couches. When the new residence was all ready, her twelve-
year-old brother came to stay with her.

They got along nicely until the fall rains began. On a Sunday
morning the clouds thickened, and all day the rain fell in torrents.
They spent the day sweeping out the water. The rain poured not
only thru the cracks in the sides, but thru the canvas roof. Every-
thing they possessed, their clothing, their beds, was drenched. It
stopped raining at sunset, and they spent the night drying their pos-
sessions. The teacher bought some water proof roofing which solved
the roof problem, but the water continued to come in at the sides
whenever it rained.

First Cottage Was Result.

The school director mentioned above came in to see me several
times during the school year to talk over the boarding question. He
felt strongly convinced that the district should provide a suitable
dwelling place for the teacher if its people were to close their doors
against her as a boarder. I agreed with him. The director talked with
the people and convinced them that they should build a cottage on the
school grounds as a permanent residence for the teacher.

The following September a neat little cottage was waiting the
new teacher and her mother when they reached the school. The
schoolhouse and the cottage were by the side of the railroad and the
wagon road, and as the farmers passed they were free in their com-
ments. Some of them severely criticised the cottage idea. They said
that we were already asking too much of the tax payer. Some, on
the other hand, had had to deal with the teacher's boarding problem
in their own districts, and watched, with keen interest, the effect of
the cottage plan.

The teacher lived there and taught three years, a long time for
the1 rural teacher to remain in the same district. She resigned at
the close of her third year because she wished to complete her col-
lege course. There had been a change of sentiment there, even among
the most stubborn, in regard to the teacher's cottage. This first cot-
tage had proven the practicability of the plan. Very soon outside
counties were talking about -cottages, and I received invitations to
speak on the subject of homes for rural teachers. We built other and
better cottages in Walla Walla county, while some districts in other
counties built even better and more substantial ones than we.

COTTAGE ASSURES LIVING PLACE FOR

TEACHER

Boarding Place the Test.

"Securing a school is not the most difficult thing for a young
teacher," said Mrs. Cora Wilson Stewart, organizer of the famous
"moonlight schools" of Kentucky, in a recent letter to me. "Securing a
boarding place is often the supreme test." Mrs. Stewart tells of a
young woman in Kentucky who was forced to relinquish her school as
there was no one in the community who would, or could, keep her.
The experience of this Kentucky girl has been reduplicated many
times in the state of Washington. Not a week ago I heard one of the
state officials recount the difficulties he had several years ago in at-
tempting to find livable quarters in a certain district in the Palouse
country. Failing, he was compelled to give up the school, and |ind
other employment. I feel that the profession lost a man who would
have been one of its ablest teachers. Our boys and girls must be
taught. There must be a teacher, and this teacher must have some
place to live. I know of brave, pioneer teachers who have prepared
their meals and have slept in a corner of the schoolhouse, but even
this is not always possible, for often the lonely schoolhouse is miles
away from the nearest family, and it takes courage of the first class
for a woman to live alone under these conditions.

Under no circumstances would I approve of a young woman's living
alone in a cottage unless she is within calling distance of some family.
I find that this has been the case in several instances this year, that is,
the cottage has been very near another home. But in case the cot-
tage stands some distance away from other houses I should strongly
urge that some adult member of the girl's family come to live with
her. Often a young woman teacher from an adjoining district, or an
older girl wishing to attend school, comes over and lives with the
woman who has the cottage, this being the case in Okanogan county,
and in other places.

Shack Room for Family Only.

In Washington, as in other western states, we have many log-
ging camps, and construction camps. The shacks go up like mush-
rooms when the camp is opened. Families come in, the wives and
children accompanying the husbands. When the services of a teacher
are desired there is no one to keep her. The young woman who has
lived in a school cottage shack at Oak Point this year says: "The
houses are small, each family, (the majority with from one to five
children between one and nine) having barely enough room for it-
self. Also, the men go to work at six A. M. and return at 6:30 P. M.,

11

COTTAGE AT OAK POINT, OCCUPIED BY MISS FRANCES JENKINS.

which makes it rather inconvenient for a teacher. The women have
all they can do to take care of their families."

Frequently in thickly settled districts a teacher finds herself unable
to get a comfortable place to live. The well appointed farm homes do
not care to be troubled with a boarder, while the less fortunate often
feel that they have not the proper accommodations to give to one of
her usually trim appearance. "I was a stranger, and ye took me in"
is forgotten in principle, and so the teacher faces a problem that is
grave in the extreme.

Once when I was superintendent of Walla Walla county a young
woman came to me in much distress just before the opening of her
school in one of the wealthy districts of the county. She had been
out to secure a boarding place, and had found that no one was willing
to take her in. I went back with the girl to the district. I called at
the home of one of the directors.

"Why don't you board the teacher this year?" I asked.

"Because I don't want a stranger around me and my family for
nine months," he growled.

"But your house has many rooms, all well furnished," I remon-
strated. "Give the teacher a room to herself, and a wood stove, and
she will not intrude upon the privacy of your home except at meal
time."

Viewing me with indigation he gave this parting thrust: "If any
teacher came to my house, and was too good to sit with my family
she could pack her trunk and get out!"

Frequently a district much prefers building a cottage to keeping
the teacher. Let me give an excerpt illustrating this point. "All
farmers are well-to-do here, and they don't care to board a teacher. I
had taught the school four years, walking across the fields from Ed-
wall. When my little girl was six years old I either had to go where

COTTAGE NEAR EDWALL. OCCUPIED BY J. FRANK HALL
AND HIS FAMILY.

it was more convenient, or they had to find a better place for me to
live. So they unanimously voted to build the cottage, summer of
1913." This teacher, J. Frank Hall, is still at this place.

Changing the Boarding Place.

It takes a high degree of real courage to handle the boarding
problem. A change in boarding place during the school term
often causes a strained relationship between the teacher and the
former hostess, and has even been known to cause a life-long enmity.
All this reflects unfavorably on the school work. It is well, if possible
to save the teacher the trouble of going to the undesirable boarding
place.

Once located many teachers suffer great inconvenience rather than
change during the year. They go on preparing the work for the next
day in a cold room or in a general noisy sitting room, they eat in-

13

differently cooked food, their personal belongings are often tampered
with, but they ''tough it thru" v/ith one of the less provident families
of the district because the more favored families refuse to have a
stranger boarding with them.

"At first it did not seem possible to get away from that place,"
writes one rural teacher, after describing a most trying boarding ex-
perience, "for the clerk would have been very angry had I moved. It
seemed that each year she took turns with another woman in board-
ing the teacher. The teacher had nothing to say about it. Luckily,
however, she exposed herself to chicken-pox, and that offered me a
good excuse to leave. Even then she resented my going very much."

Farmer's Wife's Point of View.

The conditions in the farmer's home differ from those in a city
home, and the teacher must learn that she must cause as little trouble
as possible in the busy household. It may be trying to get up to an
early breakfast, but the sensible teacher will adjust herself to con-
ditions. Sometimes it is possible to arrange for a later breakfast if
she gets it herself, and takes care of the dishes.

Rural teachers have often forgotten that the hostess is over-
worked, and actually has not time to look out for the needs of a
boarder. It is true that one teacher's carlessness has shut many a
farm door against all teachers, and perhaps justly. She must not ex-
pect first class hotel service,. she must not refuse to lend a hand when
it comes to preparing the noonday lunch baskets, or perhaps helping
with the dishes in the eveninng.

The general cry from the too frequently overworked farmer's
wife is that the teacher makes more work than any other member of
her household. The question of the weekly laundrying is one that is
equally perplexing to teacher and hostess. It is not pleasant for the
teacher to feel that she is intruding in doing her washing, and it is
not pleasant for the hostess when the teacher does it Saturday when
the weekly baking is in progress. Too often the teacher has been
careless about putting away tubs, boards, and wringer when through.
These little annoyances have closed many doors of the best country
homes to her. "I boarded a short time with a woman who was an
Adventist, and of course disapproved of my Saturday work," writes
a young woman.

COTTAGE ATTRACTS BETTER TEACHERS

Cottaged District Has Choice.

Let it be known that a district furnishes a school cottage for the use
of the teacher and that district may have its choice from among the best
teachers the state affords. And it is also noticeable that the teacher
who has the use of a cottage is not anxious to make a change each
school year. Not many years ago the "unlessoned girl, unschooled, un-
practised," was considered entirely good enough teaching material to
send to the rural districts, the more remote the district the more in-
experienced being the teacher. And often the conditions were, and
are such, in such districts that only the most undesirable teachers,
those who cannot succeed elsewhere, will go there. Let a, cottage be
built, and observe the class of teachers that can be obtained. With a
place to live the married man, the teacher of much experience and
training, may take his family, and here they may live comfortably for
years growing in influence in the neighborhood developing an in-
dividual interest in each child, understanding conditions better, and
thus being able to do infinitely better work as each year passes.

In Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and England cottages are furnished
for their teachers. The teachers are employed by the year, and most
of them spend a lifetime in the same school.

Married Men Attracted by Cottages.

Altho we now have in the State of Washington many men with
families living in cottages, I am expecting that this class soon will be
enlarged materially. It would be my suggestion that the county super-
intendent give the man with a wife and children first chance at the
cottaged districts. The delight that a man feels when he finds that
his family may be with him instead of left in a nearby town is shown
in several excerpts from letters from Washington teachers that I am
pleased to give here.

"This is my fifteenth year of experience as teacher and principal,
and during all that time I have received a good salary, but have been
handicapped about saving what I have earned as I have had to pay
a great amount for high rents, furnishing houses and moving expenses.

"During this period I have furnished five houses. In one town we
had to move four times because of floods, my rent being higher each
time. In another town we had to live at a hotel, there being no houses
for rent. We finally got a small cottage, but at the end of the month
the property was sold. We were forced to build, and in the meanwhile
we had to go back to the hotel. We had to pay 12 per cent, interest on
the loan for the building. At the close of the year I was reelected prin-
cipal, but because of sickness we were compelled to come to the coast.

15

Nearly Faints With Surprise.

"My wife had often remarked that a cottage should be built for
the teacher, the same as for a minister. I received notice of the
vacancy at this place. I came to look over the situation. I nearly
fainted with surprise when I was told that a cottage was built near
the school for the use of the principal! My wife's prayers were an-
swered, and here we are. I have no word of praise sufficiently strong
for those who put into the minds and hearts of the trustees the
building of this home." — Harvey L. Rowley, principal at Snoqualmie,
Washington.

An example of permanency and efficiency in the all-year occupa-
tion of a cottage is shown in a letter from Mrs. Minnie Thibert who
lives the entire year in her cottage near Mount Vernon. Her little son
is with her all the time, while the primary teacher in the school of
which she is principal lives with her during the school months. Mrs.
Thibert says: "I live here the year round. This is my fourth year
here, and I must acknowledge that the cottage has been the greatest
factor in my staying so long. Of course I have a fine school board, and
a fine community to work in. We have a playshed, and this last year
have bought another acre of land, and cleared it. So in the spring I
shall have room for the school garden, and yet have a place for the
children to play. The second year I was here they built me a nice
woodshed with a store room built on, and this year they have put in
new walks. The cottage was built the year before I came."

M. H. Jordan, of Fir, Washington, says: "The first year I was un-
able to secure board at all, and there was no house in the district to
move my family into. So I rented quarters, bought a gasolene stove,
and commenced 'doing light housekeeping,' or in other words 'batching.'
This was unsatisfactory in every respect except that it was cheaper than
boarding. The second year I secured a boarding place two miles from
school, a good boarding place, too, but there was too much time spent
on the road. Finally I procured a shack to move into near the school-
house, and thought me safely housed with my family for the winter.
But the place was leased, and we had to get out. I sent my family back
home, Sedro Woolley, and 'batched it' again. At the end of the school
year it was made clear to me that they wanted me to remain for the
third year. I just as clearly made it known that unless some provisions
were made whereby I could have my family with me for the entire year
I could not be counted upon. It was decided to build, and plans were
made accordingly."

Another long residence: "This is our fifth year in the district,
We found is impossible to rent a suitable house in this locality, and
drove to and from Anacortes for several years. The distance was
proving too great for Mrs. Dewar, so we proposed to go elsewhere. The
directors, however, in accordance with the sentiment of the patrons,
proposed to build a cottage if we would remain. We accepted the
proposition, and I assisted with the work. The cottage has been built

16

COTTAGE NEAR ANACORTES OCCUPIED BY ROBT. R. DEWAR
AND HIS FAMILY.

two years, has proved to be very comfortable and convenient, and, I
believe, satisfactory to all concerned."

This letter from Robt. R. Dewar of Anacortes suggests another
point that I consider very important. He assisted with the work on the
cottage. When work can be donated by members of the community
the cottage can be built much more economically, and besides there is
always a feeling of pride in a thing that we have given something
toward.

Less Salary, but Cottage Draws.

"I was offered more salary in another district, but could not accept
the conditions and do justice to the work," says one of our splendid rural
teachers, a young man in King county. School boards would do well
to bear this point in mind. Sometimes there is considerable complaint
because of the expense that a cottage or some other improvement
causes. It is true that some of the cottages are very expensive; our
most expensive one is estimated at $3200, while we have others, "lean-
tos," or movable shacks that have cost $50. In the latter case the work
has been donated to a large extent, of course. But when a school board
feels that it can build a place for the teacher to live it may rest as-
sured that there will be no loss, for better teachers will come at less
salary, and the better teacher means better methods, better instruction
for the district's most valuable possession, its boys and girls.

"As a general rule a boarding place is not a home; it is not
home either for the teacher or for the hostess," says a teacher of much

17

boarding experience. To the teacher or to any person who for many
years has boarded the word "HOME" assumes a meaning of much
magnitude. Over and over again I have listened to the story of the
teacher whose voice wavered as she revealed her homesickness, home-
sick because she was unhappy in her boarding place.

Honeymoon Cottage.

Just after a small cottage at Lamar, Walla Walla county, had
been completed in the summer of 1910, a young man came to me, and
asked to have the school in that district.

"I should be glad to let you take the school, Mr. Dunning," I
said, "but I feel that men with families should be given first chance
at the schools where there are cottages. Besides, I am not sure that
I want a young man batching in that nice little new house."

But as he insisted I finally consented to let him have the place
with the merry proviso that he open the house for inspection at the
end of the first few weeks of school. When I went out a few weeks
later I certainly found the new cottage in first class condition, but a
very sweet bride was doing the housekeeping.

"You are punished for not confiding in me," I said, "for had you
told me about the bride in time I could have had this tiny parlor
made larger. As it is, the bride will not be able to get her grand
piano in this house."

An upright took the place of the baby grand while the Dunnings
lived in "Honeymoon Cottage.". They left it only to take a larger
cottage, and larger school at Eureka.

•HONKYMOHX <'<)TTA<; K." AT I. AMAH.

COTTAGE INCREASES EFFICIENCY OF
TEACHER

Privacy Conserves Teacher's Strength.

It is a well established fact that no teacher can give efficient serv-
ice in the school room if she is uncomfortable in her boarding accom-
modations. If the energy of the teacher is spent on irritating an-
noyances or inconveniences the district does not make it possible for
its boys and girls to receive the best that the teacher is capable of
giving. And we are seeking to give our boys and girls in both city
and country the best that the State can afford.

A clean bed, wholesome food, and a quiet, warm room where she
may work undisturbed, all will admit are essential elements of a teach-
er's living conditions. And still, how many teachers are rendered in-
efficient because of not having these ordinary comforts.

Many a teacher has roomed with several children, or has occupied
a corner in the attic which has served as the bedroom for the family,
each one having an apartment curtained off by the prettiest calico that
could be purchased.

"For two months I slept in the haymow in the barn with the
four children, and their mother, lulled to sleep by the rattle of the
horses' chains, and often awakened by a cat or a dog jumping on
me," writes a young woman from Adams county. "Then the two-
roomed house was finished, and I slept in the same room with the
family, two children in bed with me, and very often a third at my
feet. In January I was asked to take a school out from Odessa, forty
pupils, and seven different nationalities and constant friction between
them. My boarding place was another two-roomed house. The bed-
room was too small for two beds, so one had been made shorter, and
it was given to me. As I am five feet, nine inches tall I was too
long for the bed. I slept on one feather bed, and under another.
When I could bear a cramped position no longer I would put my feet
out through the rods."
Five o'Clock Breakfast.

Not a few of our country school teachers have had the early
breakfast, and late supper problem to deal with. The busy house-
wife could hardly be expected to prepare the regular family breakfast
at five o'clock, and a second breakfast for the boarder several hours
later. In case the teacher herself should wish to arise later, and
prepare her own breakfast, and clear away her dishes the confusion
in a small house at the rising time would likely prevent further sleep.
After a cold noonday luncheon, and usually a long walk home a teacher
is ready for a prompt six o'clock evening meal. Often on the farm
there is a long wait, and a lamp-light supper.

19

"We can have an opportunity to relax after our day's work, and
do not need to discuss our school troubles with the family we board
with," writes a young woman from Snohomish county, who occupies
a cottage with another teacher in the same school. This young
woman has voiced a very important thought — relaxation is necessary
for those who are doing the vigorous mental and physical work that
any rural school requires. Regularity is also made possible for the
cottage dweller.

The good teacher prepares each evening for her following day's
work at school. If she is disturbed by unpleasant home accommoda-
tions the district is losing much of the enthusiastic vitality that she
otherwise could put into her presentation of school subjects. From
all quarters have come expressions from rural teachers like the fol-
lowing:

"I suffered the inconvenience of sitting in an overheated room in
the evening, and then going to the northeast corner room of the house
to a cold bedroom."

"An old spring house or milk house over a spring was fitted up,
and duly papered with newspapers. Here I was to be at home in
style, but I objected on the ground of too much dampness. I went to
town to board during the spring term although it was five miles."

"The fire was allowed to burn out at a certain time regardless of
the teacher's wishes."

"The greatest inconvenience I have had to put up with in board-
ing is no place to study or read during the evening. Usually my
room has not been heated, and the only place would be the living
room where there was more or less noise and confusion."

"It was certainly an annoyance never to have a chance to rest,
read, or study in peace. There was a broken window in my room
through which the wind whistled in the cold nights of winter, and
even the rain pattered, and the snow drifted."

"There's no question as to whether the cottage adds to the effici-
ency of the teacher — it does."

I have recounted these most unpleasant experiences with no
little degree of reluctance, for I do not appreciate the near approach
to fault finding. But I ask the question, do you wonder if some teach-
ers are sometimes inefficient? Do you wonder that rural teachers
often scramble to get into the town schools?

WIDER USE OF THE SCHOOL PLANT

Community Use of School.

Much has been said and written of late on the wider use of the
school plant. Why should a district keep up a building that is in
use something like eight hours a day for five days in the week? So
the schoolhouse is being used for the broader education of the com-
munity. Not only the children are receiving benefit from it, but by
way of the social center the grown people are also gathering there for
instruction. The instruction for adults is different in nature, but the
same in results. A good evening lecture, a lively spelling bee, a
community sing, a literary program, or any other neighborhood event
that may take place at the schoolhouse is materially educating and
developing the people of that neighborhood.

And now that the schoolhouse is not the dark place that it used
to be, now that lights are seen often through the windows by night,
there is another problem confronting the community. The first family
who reaches the building for the social center event must turn janitor,
hustle wood for the fire, perhaps make a search for the coaloil before
the lamps can be lighted. Then women and children must shiver
about the stove, if it be a cold winter night, until it is warm enough
to sit in another part of the room. I could not be so pessimistic as to
suggest that any one would come late, thus delaying the beginning of
the meeting, in order that the fires might be going, and the lights
burning before he should arrive.

Teacher in Cottage a Help.

A teacher's cottage on the school grounds solves this difficulty.
If a man be the teacher he is always there to see that the school'
building is in condition for any social center event. If there should
be any reason why the teacher could not see that the school house
was in order at least the cottage can be warm, and here the shivering
wife and babies may stay until the team is tied, and the fire started.

"Sure Pine," says director: "It is sure fine to have the building
all heated and lighted when we gather in for some social center affair
on cold winter nights," comments one director in referring to the ad-
vantages of the teacher's cottage in his district. "We used to stand
around and freeze half the evening getting things warmed up when
anything was going on at the schoolhouse."

"Last year I lived two miles away, and could not get to the
school in time to have the room warm cold mornings. The parents
think the cottage is fine. They know that the teacher will always be
at the school when the children arrive, and that there will always
be a warm room," writes an Okanogan teacher.

jflA " *' - «HK*^'^8§

Wkkfl

COTTACK NEAR IJREWSTKR OCCUPIED P,Y MISS ELLEN NICKELL. AND
YOI'N*; WOMAN FROM ADJACENT DISTRICT.

"Heretofore, no one living nearby, the schoolhouse has been
entered and property destroyed. Now the teacher cares for the prop-
erty. The trustees decided that if a cottage were built a teacher
could be on the ground to oversee the- janitor work, supervise the play-
ground work, see that the -schoolhbuse is warmed, and to see that
nothing is stolen or destroyed," says a teacher who is occupying a
cottage in Skagit county.

In this connection a director writes in: "We have no more trouble
about damage being done to school property. In our district we were
always having to repair broken windows, and outbuildings until we
put a house for the teacher on the school grounds."

Out of Quarrels.

Regardless of her unwillingness a teacher often finds herself
drawn into a neighborhood quarrel when she is boarding. This
lessens her influence in the community, and makes it very unpleasant
for her. School boards are recognizing that this condition can be
bettered, and that the cottage is the solution to the problem. I quote
from a girl who has been teaching fifteen miles from town. "The
cottage was built at the same time the schoolhouse was, four years
ago. Because of the neighbors' tendencies to quarrel, the directors
thot that the building of a cottage was desirable so the teacher could
keep out of the quarrels."

It is only natural that we should instinctively take more inter-
est in our own homes than in rented ones; we are more interested
in our rented houses than we are in the houses of our neighbors;
how much more does a teacher's cottage, practically his own house,
mean to him, than a boarding place in some other person's house.

When the teacher has a house he ceases to "stay" in the community,
but he "lives" there. He has a place where he may receive company,
where the other neighbors may visit just as in any home. While this
is especially valuable for the man with a family still others are loudly
in praise of the cottage for its social benefits. "Two of the boys just
dropped in to visit me, talked a few minutes, then departed," says
J. B. Jones, a teacher near Elaine, who has occupied a cottage alone
this year.

"We have a horse and buggy, a cow, and a few chickens. These,
of course, add to our convenience," says Thomas Babb, whose family
is with him in the cottage some five miles from St. John.

One more quotation from the many in this connection. "With a
cottage the teacher is able to maintain a constant supervision over
the school and grounds and is able to take her place as a distinct
and individual member of the community."

A Social Center for the District.

"The school cottage is being made a social center for the district,"
is the message that comes from Elmira in our sister state, Idaho.
"The parents meet there, and discuss questions that may arise in the
school and in their daily work at home, thus enabling the teacher to
get in closer touch with them. The children have taken more in-
terest in their school work, on account of the interest of the parents.
* * * The same teacher has been employed for two years and will
be reemployed as long as she wishes to teach, neither parents nor
teacher having any desire for a change. Before, there was a new
teacher every year. The greatest change has come in the community,
the people taking pride in keeping the school and cottage homelike,
and in beautifying the school grounds. This pride has extended to
their homes, which receive much better care."

Another social center is reported in a letter from the Snoqualmie
principal, Harvey L. Rowley, as his altruistic use of his cottage is
a fine example of what many others are doing, and will do in the
future. "As to the use I have made of the school cottage be-
sides that of a home: We have twice entertained the pupils of the
high school and the eighth grade including others outside of the
school. This we could not have afforded if we were paying a high
rent. The pupils have been made to feel that this was their home
also, when they have desired a place for their parties. They come to us,
and we give them privilege to use the cottage under our direction.
They drop in evenings and play on the piano and sing.

"We are trying to make the cottage a social center outside of the
school, and the pupils are coming to look at it in that way. We have
a well-organized Parent-Teachers' Association, organized this year.
The parents are taking a great interest in the work of the school. My
work in social center includes the Association just organized, the
Farmer's Grange which we are just organizing, an extension course
from the University, school athletics, tri-weekly programs at the
school and the school hall, and work in agriculture among the
farmers."

WHAT SOME OF THE COTTAGES ARE LIKE

Addition to Schoolhouse.

"As you know, last fall the school board built me a nice cottage in
connection with the schoolroom.

"It consists of a big kitchen and two other rooms, one for a sitting
room and one for a bedroom. This kitchen room is large enough for
the boys' workroom also, and all open off from the main schoolroom.
I use the kitchen for breakfast and dinner and it is also used for the
noon lunch by the children. The arrangement works admirably, as my
mother now lives with me here at the school.

"Since the boys have an opportunity to work in the shop I can see
that they are doing so much better in the regular school work, as
nearly all of them take their books home with them so they may pre-
pare their lessons so as to have more time for bench work the next
day." — Hattie Hendricks, Adams County.

Cottage Will Have Hot Air Heating.

"The cottage is an eight-room frame structure, with full basement
and bath. Hot air heat, and all plumbing fixtures are in place looking
to the installation of a private water system next spring. The lower
floor, consisting of a bedroom, sitting room, dining room and kitchen,
is designed for the use of the superintendent and his family. The
rooms upstairs are for the other teachers. Water is piped to the up-
per floor and it is served by a dumb waiter from the basement which
renders light housekeeping possible." — H. M. Skidmore, Amber, Spo-
kane County.

Double House — Eight Rooms.

"The cottage in which we now live is a well built, modern struc-
ture of the bungalow type and contains eight rooms besides the bath
rooms. It is a double house, one side being an exact duplicate of the
other. Mrs. Dunning and I occupy one side and the two assistant
teachers keep house together in the other side.

"Each side contains a large parlor or living room, and a com-
modious kitchen equipped with all built-in features and sink. Bath
rooms are located in the rear of the kitchens. Upstairs there are two
bedrooms on each side, with which are connected large, roomy closets.
The house is plastered and calcimined throughout, and the woodwork
finished in the mission stain.

"A convenient double cellar is reached by an interior stairway
from each kitchen. Screened porches in the rear add much to* the
comfort and utility of the house, and a broad veranda stretches across
the entire front. Mention might be made of the fact that the two

DOUBLE COTTAGE AT EUREKA, ONE SIDE OCCUPIED BY PRINCIPAL

G. H. DUNNING AND HIS WIFE, THE OTHER SIDE BY

YOUNG WOMEN ASSISTANTS.

living rooms are connected by double doors so that they may be
thrown together into a large social hall.' — G. H. Dunning, Eureka,
Walla Walla County.

Old School Building Turned Into Cottage.

"In the White Swan district they have converted their old school
building into a teacher's cottage, and after dividing it into five large
rooms, adding kitchen and porches, it makes a very comfortable and
convenient home. The use of this building for a teacher's home comes
through an interest this community has in the welfare of their teachers
and their school. Buildings have been erected for chickens, cow,
horse, and a good plot set aside for garden purposes. I might say
further that this district was organized five years ago with three
pupils. Now they employ four teachers, maintain three years' high
school, and have an enrollment of 110. About forty of these children
are Yakima Indian children." — Rodney Ackley, County Superintendent
of Yakima County.

Upper Story of Schoolhouse Used as Dwelling.

"My residence is an addition to the schoolhouse. The building
itself is thirty-eight feet by twenty-eight feet. The upper story is ac-
cessible by a stairway from the entry room. Upstairs there are two
rooms, each about sixteen feet square, besides a pantry, a closet, and
a storeroom. The furniture I supplied myself. At present a dog is
my sole companion. The cost, including a sixteen-foot dormer, five
windows, two brick chimneys, and all painting and paperhanging, was
less than two hundred dollars." — Raymond F. Farwell, Preston, King
County.

25

Only One Room.

"The cottage is a small, one-roomed house, very crudely built, with
the roughest of unplaned lumber. The dimensions are twelve by four-
teen. It contains two small windows. There is no furniture supplied
by the directors, but a small stove has been lent to me; another par-
ent lent me an old bed spring; then there is a homemade table, rough
shelves for a cupboard, and a well near the door, but no water in it." —
Minnie Michener, Deer Park, Pend Oreille County.

Cedar Shake Cottage.

"My cottage is built of cedar shakes, is ceiled, and papered neatly
with a light building paper. There are two rooms. The bed, tables,
chairs, and cupboard are all made from the cedar. The only things I
took with me were bedclothing, and a few personal articles." — Edith
Froom, Bedal, Snohomish County.

Shacks.

"The term 'shack' would fit better than 'cottage.' I judge they
cost about $100 each. One of them can be put on a car and moved
when the camp moves." — J. W. Hodge, Supt. Grays Harbor County.

Lean-to.

"District 23 has an addition on the schoolhouse that may be used
by the teacher." — E. D. Houglarid, Sup;t*. Ferry County.

Flowering Plants at This Cottage.

"There are six rooms, bungalow type, living room and kitchen
wainscoted. The cupboards and bookcase are built in. There are
three wide porches supplied with vines, two long flower boxes filled
with geraniums, nasturtiums, and carnations. These flowering plants
are removed in October to the classrooms.

"The house is plastered. There is a force pump on the kitchen
porch. There are two acres of lawn, with walks to school building,
and outbuildings. We have a full set of play apparatus, and a 60x24
playshed now going up.

"The grounds contain a 300-foot row of sweet peas on wire, a
dozen hollyhocks each of four colors, a dozen clumps of larkspur, beds
of asters and foxgloves, and twelve ever-blooming roses. We plant
only perennials which insures permanence of flowers under change of
principals.

"A man can, if he will, cut his firewood and get it for nothing in
the lot adjoining, and he can cross the road, and angle for his daily
fish in the Chehalis river."— R. A. Simmons, Meskill, Lewis County.

A Tent House.

"In Omak district in the Reservation the teacher lives in a com-
bination house and tent." — W. E. Gamble, County Superintendent of
Okanogan County.

26

Cottages by Counties.

According to the latest statistics I have obtained (May, 1915), the
State of Washington has one hundred and eight teachers' residences.
In giving the table below the following meaning of cottage is under-
stood: A teacher's cottage is an individual dwelling place provided
by a school board for the use of the teachers in the district. The
Washington cottages vary from the modern, well-built bungalow to
the modest lean-to against the side of the schoolhouse. Twenty-nine
out of the thirty-nine counties of the state can boast of possessing
from one to twelve of these residences.

No. of No. of

County Cottages County Cottages

1. Adams 3 17. Okanogan 6

2. Benton 2 18. Pacific 1

3. Clarke 3 19. Pend Oreille 2

4. Columbia 1 20. Pierce 1

5. Cowlitz 1 21. Skagit 8

6. Ferry 2 22. Snohomish 4

7. Franklin 12 23. Spokane 1

8. Grant 6 24. Stevens 5

9. Grays Harbor 2 25. Thurston 2

10. Island 3 26. Walla Walla 7

11. Jefferson 1 27. Whatcom 5

12. King 12 28. Whitman : . . . 6

13. Kittitas 1 29. Yakima 4

14. Lewis 5

15. Lincoln 1 Total 108

16. Mason 1

Estimate of Cost.

A number of the county superintendents have sent in estimates
of what their cottages have cost. I give these estimates merely that
an idea may be formed of what is being expended.

Cost of Cost of most Amount

County cheapest expensive invested in

Cottage Cottage Cottages

Snohomish $150 $250 $1,100

King 300 2,500 8,000

Island 135 275 900

Lewis 500 900

Lincoln 1,000 1,000

Mason 200 200

Okanogan 125 450 1,200

Clarke 275

Columbia 300 300

Franklin . 75 250 1,500

County

Cost of Cost of most Amount
cheapest expensive invested in

Walla Walla

Cottage
$350

Cottage
$3 200

Cottages
$6 500

Stevens

50

250

47^

Spokane

3 000

3 ooo

Grant

100

800

1 800

Adams

200

900

1 800

Skagit

300

900

4 000

Yakima

500

1 400

9 ()f\f\

Grays Harbor ,

100

100

200

Benton

75

250

QAfi

Whatcom .

600

800

3.200

WHAT COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS SAY

Step Toward AII-the-Year Service.

"A fine idea, and a step toward all-the-year service, and larger
community service." — W. J. Jerome, Asotin County.

"Cannot do without them in some districts." — W. E. Gamble, Okan-
ogan County.

"I think that the value to the teacher is the same as the home to
any laborer." — Lucia Jenkins, Cowlitz County.

"They seem to be a necessity in these districts. I believe it will
be a step toward better harmony in the districts, better homes for
teachers, and better school work because of comfort, independence,
tenure, etc." — Delia L. Keeler, Whatcom County.

"Makes more 'homey' conditions possible for the teacher."-
Wata J. Jones, Benton.

"Many teachers are required to pay a high price for unwholesome
food. They would rather live alone." — M. L. Carrier, Lewis County.

Solution of Many Problems.

"I believe it is the solution to many of the rural school questions.
It will give the services of teachers who will feel that they are a part
of the community in which they live. Many teachers 'stay' in the
community, but few really 'live' there." — Wm. U. Neely, Lincoln
County.

"Much better teachers can be obtained for less salary; teachers
who wish to live in a cottage usually are more anxious to understand
the communtiy and its problems as well as its opportunities; they are
much more likely to remain in their positions as they grow more neces-
sary to it." — Mrs. Lena Kohne Pratt, Island County.

"It is one of the great factors in the solution of the problems of
the rural school. It aids in securing a more permanent position; gives
the teacher privacy and independence; and affords more liberty in
acknowledgment of social duties." — Mrs. Lizzie Jones, Snohomish
County.

"Personally, I feel that we need many of these teachers' cottages.
The teachers would be much more comfortable than they are in poor,
or far-distant boarding places. They could live better in many cases,
and save more of their wages." — Mrs. Elizabeth C. Sterling, Clarke
County.

As Essential as Schoolhouse.

"One of the best investments that a school district can possibly
make. It tends to make the teacher more permanent, helps both
teacher and school in the matter of social center work. Every rural
school should possess one. One clerk tells me it was sort of an ex-

29

periment, as the teacher had such a hard time finding a boarding place.
The plan worked fine, and he now says: 'We would as soon think
about getting along without the schoolhouse as the cottage.' " — O. H.
Kerns, Skagit County.

"The interest in this line of work is increasing, and I feel sure
that we will succeed in making many homes for our teachers in the
next few years." — Rodney Ackley, Yakima County.

"They must be like a haven of rest to the teachers, for it is so
difficult to get a congenial boarding place." — Mrs. Mary Boedcher, Kit-
titas County.

"The only solution for many rural districts." — E. G. McFarland,
Spokane.

"I am satisfied with the cottages we have, and hope we can build
more." — Mrs. Carolyn F. Brown, Adams County.

ARCHITECTS' PLANS, ESTIMATES AND
DRAWINGS

Cottage for Small District.

Figure 1 is the plan and Figure 2 the view of the one-story house.
This provides accommodation for two teachers or a teacher and his
family. The living room is 13x19 feet, and is sufficiently large for the
dining table in one end. This room is made large so it may be used
for receptions, meetings of the school classes, mothers' meetings, and
all such assemblies in the interest of the domestic, social and educa-
tional life of the community. The bedroom is provided with a bed
alcove enclosed with folding glass doors. The window at the end is
large and is arranged to open the whole size. With this arrangement
the alcove may be converted into a fresh air sleeping room by opening
the window and closing the folding doors. A large clothes closet is
provided.

The kitchen is arranged with a sink, cupboard with shelves,
drawers and a cool closet division. A bathroom is shown in connec-
tion, which may be omitted if desired. The hot water tank for the
bath and sink will be placed in the bathroom. A small cellar is also

FIG. 2. MODEL SINGLE COTTAGE FOR SMALL DISTRICT.

31

—LIVING QPOM

'x 13' IcLQ/ET

FIG. 1. FLOOR PLAN FOR SMALL COTTAGE.

provided, which may be omitted. Both the front and rear entrances
have porches.

The cost of this home complete, without furniture, will be about
$900. If the bathroom and plumbing fixtures, except sink are omitted,
deduct $250. If the cellar is omitted deduct an additional amount
of $50.

32

The Double Cottage.

Figures 3 and 4 are the plans and Figure 5 the view of the double
two-story home. The object of building these double homes is to pro-
vide larger accommodation for community social work by using the
two living rooms together by opening the double folding doors. This^
opening has two sets of double doors, and when closed and a quilt or
blanket hung between them, no noise can pass from either room to
disturb the occupants of the adjoining room. Cellars are provided with
stairways from the kitchens. Both the front and rear entrances have
porches, and are separated so as to give as much privacy as possible.
Two bedrooms are provided on the second floor for each house. The
bathrooms are directly over the kitchen and the hot water tank is
placed there.

The double home will cost about $2,300. If the plumbing is omitted
deduct $200. If the cellars are omitted deduct $100.

FIG. 5. VIEW OF MODEL DOUBLE COTTAGE.

While these homes are designed to be substantially and well built,
they are constructed of simple stock material, and there are no special
detail refinements. Shades and screens should be furnished with the
building.

What the District Should Furnish.

It is recommended that the school district provide the following
furniture :

1 kitchen queen 1 small table

1 range 1 easy chair

1 dining table 1 rocking chair

6 dining chairs 1 bedstead and spring

1 sideboard 1 dresser

1 book case

/BLOND FLOOB PLlAN

FIG. 3. SECOND FLOOR PLAN F*OR DOUBLF COTTAGE.

The teacher wfll furnish rugs, carpets, draperies, bedding, table
linen and dishes.

We would suggest that the school district charge about one dollar
a month for the use of the furniture. The furniture will cost about
$125.

For the double house there will be two additional chairs, and one
bed and spring. This will cost about $40 additional.

In planning the houses for teachers the needs of the teacher and
the requirements of community life of the school district have been
carefully considered. Cost and simplicity of construction have also
been given considerable attention.

FIB/1 FLOOQ PLAN

FIG. 4. FIRST FLOOR PLAN FOR IMMT.LK CoTTAGK.

34

Cost, and Price jof Plans.

The cost given for the homes is the average cost condition in the
Puget Sound district. In outlying districts and in Eastern Washington
these prices may be 10 to 20 per cent, higher.

Arrangements have been made with the architects of these homes,
to provide complete working drawings, specifications, forms for build-
ing agreement and bond, for $5 for one set of complete blueprints for
the one-story home, and $10 for the double two-story home. School
districts desiring them will order from Heath & Gove, Architects, Na-
tional Realty Bldg., Tacoma, Washington.

5 t e- e. Y 6 u J H *-/

1 A W H.

• ; : j

H e-N <4A|B

1 M * $ 1 / 1

Dtff. r 4 i

j

_JI * A '

:

ciomey

LIME..

KO.V/E.

Uw*

•— i • I < BI mmmmmajmu , ,L

/ FtfTY RY Out

AETCH or (JA&DfN TOIL .
TrAcHce'/ MoocL HOU/E.

PI. AX F(tK TKACIIER'S (JARDEX.

THE TEACHER'S GARDEN

A Simple Plan.

With the provision of a garden, the teacher himself may add to
the beauty of his home and be an inspiration to the neighborhood,
while at the same time enjoy fresh air and recreation.

A simple plan is shown. The house is set in a clean, well-shaven
lawn. Across the. front runs a hedge of box lending an air of privacy
and enclosing it as a frame does a picture.

Against the house the shrubs are planted, relieving that bare ap-
pearance so noticeable when the walls spring directly from the ground.
These shrubs should have a flower border, usually of spring bulbs
which are succeeded by perennials. Evergreen, candy-tuft, anemones
and hardy ferns face the shrubbery gracefully.

A curving walk leads up to entrance porch. This walk is bordered
by flowers and a well chosen vine should adorn the porch, such as
Japanese Clematis, honey suckle, or wistaria.

Room for Fruit Trees.

In the lawn at the side of the house there is room for three fruit
trees, an apple, cherry and pear tree, while at the rear is a prune or
a plum tree. These trees form a sort of screen for the kitchen garden.

This kitchen garden is separated into beds by gravel walks to
facilitate weeding and could be planted with such of the following
vegetables as one's taste may dictate: Lettuce, radishes, onions, car-
rots, beets, turnips, parsnips, cabbage, beans, peas and perhaps a bed
of strawberries.

The rear of the lot is enclosed by two rows of berry bushes, rasp-
berries and currants. The walk to the woodshed would look well
flanked by a row of sweet peas.

The above is a simple outline to beautify a small plot, but if the
teacher wishes he may use his garden as an object lesson to show
what may be done in a given locality, taking due regard of soil, mois-
ture, sunshine and exposure. The best results probably can be ob-
tained by using only those plants indigenous to the vicinity, and if
they be well chosen they may be made to produce a succession of
flowers that will bloom all the year round.

For a Child's Garden.

It is true that the heart of a child enjoys every flower that blooms,
but weeding is sometimes tiresome and if the child's imagination can
be stimulated to look far enough ahead to see what is to come from
the seeds then that which was a task becomes a pleasure. The child

takes more kindly to those flowers of beauty and fragrance, so the fol-
lowing list for a child's garden is made with that thought in view:

Snapdragons

Clove or Grass Pinks

Foxgloves

Ox-eye Daisies

Sweet Williams

Sunflowers

Johnny- Jump-Ups

Star-eyed Phlox

Columbines

Poppies

Canterbury Bells

Forget-Me-Nots

Asters

Sweet Peas

Bachelor's Buttons

Ragged Robins

Larkspurs

Hollyhocks

Marigolds

Torch Lilies

For General Planting.

For the general planting of the garden the accompanying list is
offered the inexperienced gardener. These have been chosen for their
reliability, color, and ability to grow in proximity to other plants:

Perennials for the spring:

Crocus

Giant Snowdrop
Phlox

White Rock
Hyacinth
Primrose
Tulip

English Daisy
Columbine
Lily-of-the-Valley

Perennials for the summer:
Alyssum
Aster

Canterbury Bell
Larkspur
Shasta Daisy
Hardy Pink
Foxglove
Sunflower
Hollyhocks
Gloxinia

Perennials for the autumn:

Goldenrod
Golden Glow
Sunflower

Poets Narcissus
Star Daffodil
Jonquil
Peony
Grass Pink
Bleeding Heart
Fleur-de-Lis
Turkey Flag
Forget-Me-Not

Lupine
Blazing Star
Cardinal Flower
Lavender
Oriental Poppy
Meadowsweet
Spiderwort
Sweet William
Torch Lily

Monkshood
Chrysanthemum
Evening Primrose

38

Shrubs for summer bloom and winter color:

Japanese Quince Golden Spirea

Flowering Almond Golden Flowering Currant

Common Lilac Japanese Barberry

European Privet Golden-barked Dogwood

Old Blush Rose Pepper Bush

Sweet Brier Hydrangea

Snowball

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