n this country to compare with the thousands of Berlin
"arbor gardens" and their singularly convincing force. Like a
circus, all this is supposed to be for the children, though it
usually seems to need about two grown people to escort each child.
The elders enjoy the gardens even more than the circus.

The arbor gardens of Berlin should not be mistaken for the numerous
"forest schools" (Waldschulen) in Germany. These schools "in the
woods" are for sickly children, both physically crippled and
mentally weak. The pupils have their lessons in the open, and the
teachers live, play, and work with them; long recesses separate the
various lessons and a two-hour nap in the middle of the day out in
the open is on the time-table of every one of these schools. These
special open-air schools for weaklings and defectives are now found
in many parts of Germany, notably in Charlottenburg, Strassburg, and
the industrial regions of the Rhineland.

The example of Berlin has been followed in other German cities, such
as Munich, notably in Dusseldorf on the Rhine, where the arbor
gardens are called "Schreber gardens" in honor of the man who
promoted their establishment. There is a large colony of such
gardens along the Hans-Sachs street, where Lima beans, peas,
lettuce, cucumbers, potatoes, and many other garden vegetables are
raised; even strawberries, raspberries, and fruit trees are found
here. But the city being more lavishly provided with parks and open
spaces than others of its size, the necessity for open-air life has
not made itself felt as forcibly as in Berlin.

And think of the cleansing influence of all this. Light and air and
labor--these are the medicines not of the body only, but of the
soul. It is not ponderable things alone that are found in gardens,
but the great wonder of life, the peace of nature, the influences of
sunsets and seasons and of all the intangible things to which we can
give no name, not because they are small, but because they are
outside the compass of our speech. The God that dwells in gardens is
sufficient for all our needs--let the theologians say what they
will.

"'Not God! in gardens? When the eve is cool?
Nay, but I have a sign--
'Tis very sure--God walks in mine.'"

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Three Acres and Liberty, by Bolton Hall

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