One of the August pieces of work was to _The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming.

the frame was taken up and the pit dug deeper--about two feet this time.

Previous to this a great pile of manure had been heaped up near by. Jack

had sprinkled it with hot water to start fermentation. Steam rising from

the heap was proof of this, and it may be used at this time.

Then the manure was put into the pit. An eighteen-inch bed of it was

made and firmly tramped down. At first the temperature of this was over

one hundred degrees. When it dropped to ninety-five degrees soil was put

on. The temperature was taken by means of a thermometer buried in the

manure. The frame was placed after two inches of soil had been put in;

then four more inches went on. The surface of the soil was made to slope

at the same angle as the glass. All about the frame was banked, again,

manure covered with earth and leaf matter.

Jack transplanted violet plants into one compartment. These were good

violets and were placed four inches apart. In the second bed he sowed

foxglove, pansy and stock. The third was left for radish and lettuce, a

bit later.

Elizabeth helped him sew together several thicknesses of straw matting

as covering for the winter nights. They had decided that newspapers next

the glass, then the mats, and finally a rubber blanket, would be

protection sufficient.

But Jack's hotbed work is quite another story. However, I can tell you

that the next winter he added two other frames to this one.

ALBERT AND JAY'S DRAINAGE PROBLEM.

The problem of draining which Albert and Jay had to consider, was

perhaps the biggest piece of work that was done all that spring. In the

first place, it should have been done in the fall. That is the time to

do such work, for if put off until spring it delays greatly the spring

planting.

It was a wet spring, too. The boys, rather impatient of waiting, started

digging one day, but it ended in disaster. The ground was soft and wet

and hence very heavy to handle. This piece of land was one hundred feet

wide or deep. It had a frontage of one hundred and fifty feet. A slope

rose up in front of it, which accounted for the water being drained onto

this land. The water naturally would have run off the land into a brook

at the back. But in about the centre was a hollow, and beyond that the

ground rose a little, and then dropped toward the brook. The depression

made a kind of drain hole and the water settled there all the spring

through.

This strip of land of the boys was not by any means the entire piece of

land, which was much larger, but the boys' father had given them this

largely to try their mettle. He felt so certain they could not do it

that he said they might have all they needed from a pile of drain pipe

he intended to use himself on a piece of wet land the next fall. "I

shall have all my drain pipe left to me," he said to the boys' mother

one night. She smiled, for the boys had talked matters over a bit with

her.

Myron's strawberry bed was all made, Jack's garden-filling work done,

George's ploughing and planting finished, before the boys could lay the

drain.

"It's no use," said Albert, "I'm ready to give up."

"Now Savage, there's to be no quitting. I'd be ashamed of you, at least

we can surprise father."

"All right, Jay, I'm with you."

Finally the day came when The Chief and the boys started work. A drain

pipe should be laid ordinarily anywhere from twenty inches to three feet

deep. One may dig or plough to make the trench. It is wise to dig as

narrow a trench as possible and so lift as little soil as possible.

Then, too, the bed of the drain should slope gradually from the upper

or highest point to the lowest. The drop in level should be about four

inches per hundred feet. So the boys had to consider just this. This is

the way they "sighted" to get the drop in level. They drove a stake into

the ground at some twenty feet from the place where the drain was to

begin. Previously a cord had been stretched from one end of the centre

of the field to the other end. Since the centre of the field seemed to

be the place for the deposit of water the drain was to go directly

through the centre.

If you ever have a piece of draining to do the problem may not be so

simple as this. You may find several natural drainage areas. Then you

must lay drains through these. Or instead of separate drains make side

ones which empty into a main drain.

Going back again to the "sighting" for the drain bed level--the boys

have driven a stake into the ground. It stands five feet above the

ground level. If a tree had been in line with the drain line this might

have been used and saved driving the stakes. Across the stake, at right

angles to it, a board with a perfectly straight edge was nailed. This

board was about four feet long, one end pointed at the drain line. At

the other end Jay placed his eye looking across this to where Albert had

driven stakes.

One stake had been driven into the ground at the beginning where the

drain was to be dug; another at the extreme end or outlet of the drain.

Albert stood at the first stake and ran a little piece of paper slowly

up and down the stake until Jay raised his hand. This meant that the

paper was on the same line with the sighting board. Then Albert ran to

the other stake and did the same. The difference in these two points

gives the difference in level of the ground. Albert measured from the

ground to his mark on the first stake, and, doing the same in the case

of the other stake, found the difference to be eight inches. This was

too great a drop. Then the boys drove two stakes in between these others

and did the same work of level finding. From stake 1 to 2, or for the

first twenty-five feet there was no difference in level. For the first

fifty feet there was four inches drop; for the next twenty-five feet,

five inches rise; and the last twenty-five feet, six inches drop. They

marked all this on the stakes in order to make sure they got the level

right. The bed must, you see, drop one inch for every twenty-five feet.

For the first fifty feet of the line the drop was just twice too much;

then came the abrupt rise and drop.

Albert ploughed a furrow straight along the line and ploughed back

again. Then he reploughed. The boys then began to dig, making a ditch

three feet deep right through the land. In order to get the right level

they used a home-made device and plumb-line which can be made as

follows: Nail the ends of two six-inch boards ten feet long, so as to

make a right angle; then across the open end of the triangle, nail

another six-inch board having the lower edge about a foot from the ends

of the boards. Cut off the ends of the boards on a level, so that they

will rest evenly on the ground. Next drive a nail into the apex of the

triangle, and to it tie a line long enough so that when the triangle is

stood on its legs, the plumb-bob, which you will tie on the other end of

it, will almost reach the ground.

The centre must next be determined. To do it, set the triangle up on its

legs on a level place and when the plumb-line comes to rest, mark the

place. A lead-pencil mark will do, but as it is liable to become

obliterated by the dirt, a saw mark is more permanent.

Now you know what the grade of the bottom of your ditch will be.

Reproduce this on a level place by means of a board with a large enough

block under one end to give the right pitch; put the triangle on this

and when the plumb-line comes to a rest, mark the place on the cross

piece. Reverse the ends of the triangle to get a similar mark on the

other side of the centre or level mark. This makes a level by which a

fairly accurate grade can be made.

The tile pipes were laid upon a bed of gravel. This prevents the

clogging up of the loosely put together joints. To fit tiles place the

small end of one into the large end of the next, and so on. Over the end

of the last tile, which emptied into the brook, they wired a bit of

rather fine-meshed chicken wire.

Then the trench was filled in. By test Albert had found the soil of this

land acid. Lime was to be put on it. Now lime must be in a crumbling

state for this purpose. So after they had bought the lime they dumped it

in a heap on a corner of the plot. After it had become air slaked, or

reduced to a powder by the action of air upon it, it was spread over the

lot. This and considerable fertilizer was ploughed in. The boys then had

an ideal sort of planting soil for almost anything. The drain actually

worked.

Now some boy may ask, suppose a fellow has no tile and cannot afford to

buy any. In such a case there are two alternatives or choices. A wooden

trough may be made by nailing together boards six inches wide. Then make

a gravel bed and tip this trough over on it peak up. The wooden drain,

however, is likely to rot. The other way is to put a double row of

stones right through the centre of the bed slope. These

stones--perfectly flat ones--should be placed on end with a foot between

the rows. In this space put small stones.

The chief thing to remember in the drainage problem is that one wants a

gradual flow of water from inlet to outlet. Any boy can fix his wet,

soggy garden spot even though he has no tiles. Stones can be found

surely, and, if no gravel beds are near, all the little brothers and

sisters can pick small stones.

The boys had decided on planting what they called a general vegetable

garden--corn, pumpkins, beans (bush), melons, tomatoes, beets and

carrots. This combination of vegetables was a happy choice as they all

can well wait until rather late for planting. The boys used the planting

table that Peter had worked out.

[Illustration: Photograph by H.L. Schultz

<b>Jay's Tile Drain Converted a Swamp Into a Garden</b>]

Many times boys and girls are bothered by the word "hill". I have seen

boys make nice little heaps of earth and then make a hole in the top of

these like a crater in a volcano. Down into this crater they poke

seeds. Now a hill merely means a place. This place is not to be heaped

up above the level of the ground. Place five seeds to the hill. Do not,

of course, make a little pile of these seeds but lay them on the ground

with a little space between seeds, say an inch. When planting beans

place the eye of each bean down against the ground. The bean stands up

on edge.

The pumpkins were planted in between the hills of corn. This is just the

place to plant pumpkin or squash because there is opportunity sufficient

for the vines to run. Remember not to plant these two together.

Soon after the pumpkins began to come up the boys noticed one morning

that the leaves had been eaten. Some were completely riddled, looking

like lace work. Digging about the ground Albert found a black and white

striped beetle. Its name is the Striped Beetle. The boys killed these in

the course of three days. They bought five cents' worth of white

hellebore, which is a powder, and sprinkled it on the ground in a circle

about the stems of the young plants. They made the circles some six

inches from the plant stalk. Doing this at night, the evening dews

prevented the scattering about of the powder. They put this on for

three nights. Afterwards sand was sprinkled lightly over the hills and

at the end of the runners. This makes a discouraging sort of prospect

for the beetle who is hunting for something good to eat, not sand to

walk over. If instead of sand they had used lime it would have been

better. For the lime is quite likely to form a sticky mass on the legs

of the insect pest. The moisture from dew or rainwater helps this along,

while sand is far more likely to drop off the victim's legs. The Chief

felt sure that besides the beetles there were slugs in the garden. Slugs

are very likely to bother. They appear early in the season, feed chiefly

at night and after rains, and lay eggs throughout the summer and autumn.

These eggs are laid in the ground and in rubbish heaps.

The treatment suggested above and started just as soon as there are

signs of slugs, will work. The boys treated their melons in the same way

and had no further trouble with beetles and slugs.

The tomato plants were started inside. They were transplanted into

strawberry baskets. These are excellent to use, because in transplanting

to the ground the little strawberry baskets may be knocked apart without

disturbing the plant nearly so much as if it were planted in a compact

box. Be sure to line the basket with paper before filling with earth.

When the plants began to straggle about and bend over stakes were driven

into the ground and the plants tied to these.

Jay used hoops and made a sort of cage for the separate plants. He drove

four stakes into the ground at distances of eighteen inches from the

stalk and in a circular form. Then slipping hoops over the plant he

nailed these hoops to the stakes. Some plants had two hoops about them,

some three; it all depends on the size and needs of the plant. Only keep

this in mind; that the object in staking tomatoes is not only to keep

the plant erect, and the fruit off of the ground, but to allow plenty of

light and air to get at all parts of the plant.

The bean culture resulted in a little private contest between Albert and

Jay. That winter The Chief had given the boys a talk on inoculation of

soil. One day while they were working on their land Jay suggested that

they separate the bean section of their garden, having a bean plot at

one end and another of the same size at the extreme other end; that one

of them should inoculate the soil of his plot and the other should not.

These plots being so far removed would not be in danger of soil washing

one from the other. Albert, who rather scorned inoculation of soil,

willingly agreed to make the experiment, stipulating that he have the

uninoculated plot.

By inoculation of the soil is meant introducing into the soil a germ.

This germ makes it possible that the nitrogen already in the soil be

given to the plant in such a form that it may be absorbed, and absorbed

in greater quantities than it otherwise could be.

Jay sent to the nearest State Agricultural Experiment Station, asking

for the soil. This was sent free of charge. It was a soil, fine in

texture and brown in appearance. According to the directions sent with

it Jay spread it evenly over the top of his bean patch. A piece of land

for inoculation should be prepared all ready for planting; then the

inoculated soil is merely put over this, as frosting on a cake. After

this the seeds are planted. They planted bush limas. Of course they had

to plant the same kind of bean for the sake of the experiment.

Beans are not hard to cultivate. They should be kept free from weeds and

the soil well stirred up. Albert, fearful of his beans becoming affected

by spots or anthracnose, sprayed them from the start. This disease is

likely to affect beans about July. So in order to get ahead of the

inoculated crop the boy did what he later found there was no need of. To

be sure beans are liable to this trouble, but it is not a surety. It is

never likely to appear unless the weather be very moist. This summer

happened to be a dry one.

The spray he used was the Bordeaux mixture. His father offered to supply

him with the mixture if he would do mixing for both. So he used this

receipt: Dissolve six pounds of copper sulphate in six gallons of water.

It is an excellent plan to crush up this chemical in a mortar and put

this powder into a bag. Hang the bag up so it just touches the surface

of the water. Add twenty-five gallons of water to this. To four pounds

of slaked lime add twenty-five gallons of water. Then add this solution

to the other.

The boy's father had a spraying machine. So Albert used this. I have

known boys to use a corn broom to spray with. Dip this in the spraying

mixture and shake over the foliage. The only spraying rule Albert used

was to keep the foliage covered with the mixture; this does not mean

many applications.

At the close of the bean season Jay had the finer, larger, beans with a

better flavour. His yield was one-third greater than Albert's.

"And think, too, how I worked," Albert moaned. "Hereafter I shall not

make fun of inoculation."

There is not much more to tell of this garden. The poppies yielded well.

These were supported as they grew by stakes, as tomatoes are. Carrots

need rather mellow, upland soil. The boys found that their carrots did

not do so well as the other vegetables. The soil was a bit heavy and

moist for them. They found this out about beets: beets should not be

transplanted. Transplanting puts them back. Albert transplanted a few

and learned this fact.

GEORGE'S CABBAGE TROUBLES

George had a long task in stone picking. The old slope seemed to be full

of stone. George would pick continuously from school to supper time, and

next morning declare that new stones had grown in the night.

The ditching was very little work. It meant digging a ditch about two

feet deep and then making at either end of this gutter a side ditch at a

very severe angle to the main ditch. These side ditches were directed

along the sides of the hill for about six feet, and the water thus

directed would conduct itself off. Of course the angle was such that

the ditch led away from the garden spot.

[Illustration:

SLOPE SLOPE

---------------------

/ DITCH \

SIDE / -------------------- \ SIDE

SLOPE / / \ \ SLOPE

/ / GARDEN \ \

/ / \ \

Picture this as the ditch George dug right above his garden. The water

passed through the side slopes away from the garden.]

As the stones were picked off he piled them into the gutter, where this

stony bottom also helped the drainage problem.

George was a master hand at ploughing, for he had always done his share

of it, so ploughing meant nothing to him. First, you will remember

George had one foot of dressing to put on the land. This he ploughed in;

and then reploughed. After this the slope was harrowed. You all know

that the harrow simply makes fine the soil after the plough has done its

work of throwing up the earth. The rake is a kind of harrow. Of course,

when the garden plot is large, the rake is impossible, and then the

harrow, really a big rake dragged by a horse, must do this work.

It took the boy longer than some of the others to do his work, for

George did more work at home than the others. He was probably better

informed on farm matters, however. His father was a real farmer; the

other boys' fathers farmed, too, but not as a business.

Anticipating the amount of time this preparatory work would take he had

not started his cabbage inside. To get an early crop of cabbage, seed

must be planted in January or February; then one may start in March.

But for the late crop plant in the open in May or June. This is just

what George did.

He made furrows straight down his sunny southern slope. These furrows

were two feet apart. The seed, of Savoy cabbage, was sprinkled in the

furrows. This was done after rain. Cabbage needs much moisture for quick

germination. George might have poured water into the furrows and puddled

or stirred the earth a bit, if the garden had been small, but his was

too large for this, so he took advantage of Nature's watering. When the

plants were about two inches above ground they were thinned out to stand

two feet apart in the furrow.

Cabbage, you know, is quite likely to become infested by pests. Perhaps

the most common of which are lice or aphis and the cabbage worm, a green

caterpillar. Therefore it is well to try a little prevention. So all

over the ground about the plants sprinkle unslaked lime. Tobacco dust or

soot may be used for this purpose, too. Good cultivation also helps

prevent these pests.

One row of cabbage began to develop worms. These George picked off, but

he found that he could not keep up with them; so The Chief advised him

to buy a little pyrethrum powder at the store. This he mixed with five

times its bulk of dust. Putting the mixture into an old potato sack he

shook it over the infested heads of cabbage.

Except for this drawback the cabbage did well. He lost the infested row

of cabbage. For he pulled them all up, spaded the ground over, and

sprinkled it with the poison mixture. All the other cabbage heads were

sprinkled with it, too. One may easily lose all his cabbage from these

worms.

In the fall the cabbages were harvested. This was about the last of

October. George pulled them up by the roots. He found some of the heads

rather soft, some bursting open. As it does not pay to keep such cabbage

over, these were fed to the cattle--a gift, George called it, to pay for

the fertilizer.

All the fine solid heads are worth storing. In order to get nice white

inner leaves, as the head begins to form break and bend over the outer

leaves and those that protect the inner ones. It is a sort of blanching

or bleaching process. Two hundred fine firm heads were the result of the

work of this boy.

"What are you going to do with all these, I'd like to know?" asked Jack.

"I expect to store a number of them--one hundred and fifty, I should

say. I'm going to give away fifty. In the winter I hope to sell about

one hundred of my stored ones."

George's way of storing cabbages is a good one. A spot was ploughed in

the orchard between the rows of trees. Then the cabbages were piled in a

neat pile roots up, one cabbage fitting into the other. All about and

over this heap a layer of straw about four inches thick was placed. To

hold the pile in place stakes were driven in about its base. To hold the

straw, branches were placed over the whole and boards put on last. The

straw packing kept the cabbage from freezing. If George's father had had

a good tight shed the cabbage could have been stored on shelves in this.

The ordinary home cellar is no place for storage of cabbage.

Later in the winter he sold one hundred heads of cabbage to the markets

in a near-by city. These he sold at two cents per head. They kept fifty

at home.

The boys tried long and hard to find out where the other fifty went. But

George would not tell. There was an orphans' home some few miles from

the village. It seems that at one time an appeal had been made at the

school to the boys and girls to give whatever they could to this home.

At that time George had nothing to give. No one knew how badly the boy

felt, so as his cabbages grew the lad made a pledge with himself to give

one quarter of his cabbage to this home. One evening in late October,

George had hitched up an old farm horse, loaded his cabbage in, and had

driven over to the home.

The Chief learned of his kindness one December evening, when he visited

the matron to see about Christmas gifts for the children. She told him

that one evening in the fall a bashful lad had brought a load of cabbage

to her, but would not tell his name. As the man walked home he thought

of the really splendid ending of George's cabbage experiment. After all

a garden reaches its real work when some of its product is given to

those who are in need.

"Now I see," said The Chief out loud, as he walked past George's house

on his homeward way, "why George made out of his garden so much less

than the others. I never could understand why he lost the prize. I am

glad there are boys who care less for money than for other things."

XII

PETER, POTATOES, AND PROFIT

Peter had a mile to go to his garden, which was on his grandfather's

farm. This farm land, you will remember, was especially good.

The ploughing, fertilizing and harrowing were done for Peter. The soil

was just the sort potatoes thrive on, a sandy loam. After the furrows

had been made about six inches deep and two feet apart, Peter put a

sprinkling of chemical fertilizer into the bottom of each furrow. This

was sprinkled on as one puts salt on potato before eating it. Over this

he placed some dirt so the fertilizer would not burn the potato.

Early the morning of planting Peter cut his seed potatoes. The date was

the 1st of April, not a bit too soon to get in early potatoes.

The seed potatoes chosen were fair, smooth specimens of good size. These

he cut so that only one eye was left to a piece of potato the size of a

hen's egg. These pieces were dropped into the furrows at distances of

fifteen inches apart and four inches deep. After covering, the man went

over the potato patch with a harrow. A boy might use a rake for this

work, but as Peter's patch was a small part of his grandfather's field

the harrowing of the whole was done by the man.

When the little potato plants were well up Peter sprayed them with Paris

green. This was wise because he thus got ahead of the potato bug. Some

one may like to know how to mix up Paris green. The proportion used was

one tablespoonful to a pail of water. This was put on with a watering

pot every two weeks, thus Peter kept his potatoes quite free from bugs.

Although the rest of the potato patch was cultivated by the horse, Peter

used the hoe. He could not plough, for Peter was a rather small boy for

his age and not very muscular. The secret of potato culture is to

cultivate well and keep the bugs down.

He dug his potatoes about the middle of June. From the one quarter acre

his grandfather had lent him for his garden Peter dug seven bushels of

potatoes. At the time new potatoes were selling for $1.25 per bushel.

His father bought three bushels and the other four were sold in the city

to Philip's mother and friends.

The constant working of the soil for potato culture gets it into a fine

mellow condition exactly right for celery. Peter's grandfather suggested

that the boy put this in, and so have another crop, a fall one.

Although this soil had been well fertilized in the spring for the

potatoes this was yet not sufficient for celery culture. Celery ought to

be started either indoors in flats, or in a hothouse or seed bed late in

February--transplanted to other flats, and again finally to the open

ground.

To prepare for the celery trenches were dug three feet apart and one

foot wide. The earth thrown out in trench digging was piled between the

ditches to be used later in banking up the celery. These trenches were

six inches deep. In the bottom of the trench was put some enriched

manure. This was of different materials. Peter used well-rotted barnyard

dressing, a little hen manure, and about the same quantity of chemical

fertilizer. Hen manure is rich, so he did not use the bulk of that. Over

this was put an inch of soil.

Celery plants should be set about six inches apart in the trench. First

cut them back; that is, cut off about one quarter of the root and

one-third of the top. This cutting back increases the spread of

root-growth later and decreases the amount of respiration of water from

the leaves. The top alone grows more stocky and bulky.

Firm the plants well. That is, press the soil firmly about the roots and

stalk. When the plant has received its growth it must be blanched. This

process not only whitens celery, but also takes the bitter taste out of

it. This may be done in various ways, but Peter used the earth process.

He tied the bunches up together with bits of raffia. This was done

merely to keep the earth from pressing in between the stalks. Then the

earth which had been left in between the trenches was drawn up with the

hoe about the stalks until only the top leaves poked out above. Do not

do all this banking at once. Take several days at it. Boards may be

placed along the sides of the banked celery hills.

Peter having heard of the self-blanching kinds told his grandfather that

he would plant this kind to obviate blanching. But there were two

drawbacks. In the first place, he had waited too late to start seed. And

secondly, these varieties, too, should be bleached to take out the

bitter taste. So Peter bought young celery plants from his grandfather.

He paid $1 for two hundred small plants. Later in November he sold these

to the same market where his potatoes had gone. Fifty bunches he sold

to his father. These were left protected in the ground for use when

needed. The rest he sold in the city. From his celery he made $1.80. In

all the lad made $9.55. This was a pretty good sum to make. So Peter's

saying of "potatoes and profit" actually worked out.

XIII

PHILIP'S BACKYARD

On a beautiful Saturday in late April one might have seen The Chief and

his boys boarding the train for the city. It was the day set apart for

helping Philip.

The boy had cleared up the yard ready for work. You will remember shrubs

were to be planted, a walk and cement pond made, and a little gardening

done. The shrubs were planted as the school trees were. One must be

careful to dig the hole large enough to receive the roots of the shrub.

If old shrubs are transplanted be sure to cut out all the old wood, and

also cut the top back severely; that is, reduce it to one-third its

former size.

It was great fun to make the little pond. Such a pond may be used for

fish or for water plants or for both. Do not make too large a one,

unless you have a very large yard. The smaller ones are easier to care

for, and more pleasing in appearance.

First stake off the outside limits for the pond. Philip's was to be four

feet by two and one-half feet. Dig down three feet. Fill in the bottom

of the pond up to fifteen inches of the top with large stones. Then in

between and over these put small stones so that you have filled in about

six to eight inches of the cavity. Now it is time to mix cement. Mix

only a little at a time. Get a board about two feet square. With a

trowel put on the board one part of Portland cement to three parts of

sand. Have a watering pot full of water at hand. Add water enough each

time to the cement and sand to make a soft but not running mass. If it

be possible for you to have small stones to put in, it will improve the

mortar you are mixing. These stones should not be larger than one inch

in size. Add four parts of these to the mixture.

Now over the bottom of the pond put on the paste about three inches

thick. Fill in with the trowel and smooth it off with the back of this

same tool. The sides are the next job. Put a board slantwise against the

bottom of the pond so there is a space between the board and the side

you are to plaster. Drop the mortar down into this space and press the

board against the sides. This firms the mortar. Keep up this work all

around the sides of the pond.

Another way to do this work is to make a box that will fit approximately

into the pond, but that gives a space all around over three inches from

the sides. Then the mortar may be dropped in. After three days knock out

the box and you have the inside all right. If you wet the sides and

bottom of the box the mortar will cling to it less.

If the mortar looks rather rough after you finish, mix cement with

water, take a whisk broom and with this brush the paste all over the

bottom and sides of the pond. All around the ground by the pond, mortar

for about six inches. This prevents the breaking in of the edges.

Albert and George, who worked on this job, did the mortaring the first

way. The pond was left unfilled for a week to dry thoroughly. Then after

placing two inches of sand in the bottom it was filled with water.

Philip bought two pond lily roots. He tied stones with string on the

roots of the plants to keep them down: otherwise they would have bobbed

up and floated on the surface of the water. Some one gave him two water

hyacinths.

In the middle of the yard a round bed was made. To do this take a cord

and tie a stake at either end. The cord should be whatever length you

have decided shall be the radius of the circle. The radius of a circle,

you remember, is the distance from the centre to the circumference.

Now drive one of the stakes into the ground at the exact centre. Grasp

in your hand the other stake and swing a circle with it. The stake will

scratch a well-defined line so that you have the outline of the circle,

the boundary of the bed.

Jay spaded down to about six inches all along the outlines of bed. After

that the bed itself was spaded. Philip insisted on outlining it with

brick which had been given him. Some children use whitewashed stones,

some use shells. Either plan gives a spotty effect. The idea fails of

being artistic. A neat cutting of the turf and a slight heaping up of a

round bed toward the centre gives after all a far more pleasing effect.

Try to keep as near to Nature's own plan as you can. Shells belong on

the seashore or in a collection; keep stones for road making, wall

building, cement work and curbs; bricks are for foundations and

buildings. Rarely use things for what they were not intended. It is

better usually to border a bed with low-growing flowers. Ageratum,

candytuft and dwarf nasturtiums are good for the purpose.

Along a walk to an old outhouse they planted asters on one side and four

o'clocks on the other. Asters, as all boys and girls know, are better if

started inside early. Then they may be transplanted to the outside. In

his way one gets a bit ahead of the season.

But Philip was obliged to plant seed for both. So he planted it in a

drill as one plants lettuce. Later the little seedlings were thinned out

to stand six inches apart. This thinning was done when the plants were

four inches high. Four o'clocks need lots of room as they grow bushy.

Plants in narrow strips are quite likely to drop over their limits. To

keep these in bounds Philip later built a fence. For this he used stakes

driven into the ground at intervals of every four feet. To these he

nailed strips of railing. Sometimes cords are used instead of railings.

An old fence was all about the yard and an old unused outbuilding in the

rear. These were both unsightly in appearance, so they had to be hidden.

Vines were used for this purpose.

About six inches from the fence a furrow was made four inches deep.

Climbing nasturtium seeds were dropped into this furrow at distances of

every four inches. The seeds had been soaked over night. This was

because the ground was very dry and the weather was now quite settled

and warm. If the ground is wet and the weather cold, never soak seed. It

just adds to the general soggy condition to do this.

[Illustration: Photograph by Mary H. Northend.

Philip's Backyard Made Beautiful by Annuals and Quick-growing Vines.]

Morning-glory seeds were planted along the end of the fence by the

outbuilding and all around it. After these climbing things began to grow

the pretty effect of the vines was amazing.

Many times one has to train vines so they will grow where one wishes. In

such cases drive small stakes into the ground back of where the vine is

planted. Tie a cord or string to the stake and carry this up to where

you wish the vine to go. The string may be attached in the best way,

according to the place. If it is to an old building, drive a nail into

the side, roof or peak of this. Some people make latticed trellises.

These may be made from laths.

A neighbour gave Philip some canna bulbs which he planted in an old

sieve filled with rich dirt. Canna bulbs look much like sweet potatoes.

Usually a bit of stalk is left on the bulb. Leave this in planting above

ground for about one-half inch. Dig a hole large enough to place the

canna bulb and deep enough so the stalk comes above the ground. Place

one big, fat bulb, or two or three little chaps in one spot. Leave about

one foot between plantings.

In the fall after frost cut off the stalks about two inches above the

ground, dig up the bulbs, shake all dirt off, and put into a box with a

little thoroughly dry dirt until spring. Leave this box where it is

dark and cool.

It would have been far better had Philip planted the cannas either in

the round bed or against the fence as a screen. As a general rule the

planting in tubs, kettles, kegs and similar receptacles is not only

inartistic, but gives the plant very confined and cramped quarters. When

possible plant right out in the ground. Window boxes and roof gardening

in boxes is "another story."

The cost of Philip's flower garden was 25 cents. He bought five-cent

packages of each of the flower seeds. The cannas cost nothing. The

shrubs were $1, the cement 70 cents, and the water-lily roots 50 cents.

So the total cost for changing an ugly yard to a mass of flowers was

$2.46.

Philip's clearing up seemed to be catching for the girl across the

street started in with her work. For ten cents she bought a collection

of flower seed. These seed were planted in three-foot beds. The beds

were banked up or supported by strips of board. This same girl planted

flowers in two old kettles and set one upon an empty cask and the other

on an old drain tile. But she later decided very wisely that this was

not after all so very pretty. Kettles are better for potato boiling than

for flowers.

But such a good time as she had all summer in her own green, pleasant

backyard! And so had Philip, too! "Just a few cents and some hard work

will change your backyard into something beautiful," Philip was heard to

say one day to a group of city boys.

XIV

THE CORN CONTEST

Each boy was to take a certain number of hills of corn in his father's

corn patch. He was to select his seed corn after a few suggestions given

him by The Chief. These hills of selected corn were to be cared for by

the boy himself, but it was perfectly legitimate that the soil be

prepared for him, since most of the boys were to plant in their fathers'

cornfields.

In the growing of corn the first matter for a boy or girl to consider is

the selection of the seed. Corn should be selected carefully by the

individual stalk; that is, choose ears from stalks bearing an ear or

ears at, or a little below, the middle of the stalk.

The stalk itself should be thick and free from suckers or any evidence

of disease. The ear should be cylindrical. The kernels should be deep

setting, uniform and compact. Then the cob should not be too large. Look

at some samples. See how some ears have too large a cob, others too

small, while still others show a right amount of cob.

The butt and tip of the ear should be well filled out. Look for a

perfect ear. The kernels are uniform in size, in even rows, with only a

slight space between rows. See the tip and butt. Very little space is

lost at the butt. You have seen ears where the butt was all space.

There is still another sort of corn. It might be called mongrel. Any one

can raise such corn. Good care shows in corn as good breeding does in

boys and girls.

One more point the boys were told to consider in selecting seed ears,

that was the relation of the circumference of the ear to its length. An

ear should have a fairly large circumference at the base and taper

toward the tip. To estimate relation of circumference to length, which

should be as three is to four, measure the ear one-third the distance

from butt to tip. So if the ear is eight inches long the circumference

should be about six inches.

All the boys but Jack and Myron tested their seed corn to be sure of its

vitality. Peter went a little further than the other boys. He not only

tested for general vitality, but he tested for vitality among the ears

he had selected as good seed ears. This he did in the following manner:

He chose twenty-five ears, and used four kernels from each ear. First a

soup plate was filled with sand. This was moistened by dropping a little

water on the sand. Sand must not be too wet for this work. He

partitioned off the sand-bed into rows with cardboard between them. On

the cardboards was marked over each row of four kernels the number of

the ear from which they came. The sand was moistened each day. Peter

worked out from this the best ears for quick germination.

The next point to be considered in corn culture is that of the soil.

Soil for corn should be mellow and fine. If it has vegetable matter or

humus in it, then its value as a corn-growing soil is increased.

Fertilize well and plough, or if the plot is small, spade. You ought to

have surely eight inches of good, mellow soil. In planting corn place

five kernels in a hill. You will remember that a hill means a place. For

corn which grows high make the hills four feet apart; while for the low

growing varieties place three feet apart. Cover the early varieties with

one inch of soil; the later varieties with one-half inch.

As the corn shoots begin to appear every boy should appear with his hoe

or cultivator, for one secret of good gardening is constant cultivation

or stirring of the soil. Water, as you know, rises in the ground and

coming to the surface evaporates. Now the point is to keep the moisture

in the ground for the plant's food supply. So if one keeps stirring the

soil he makes a layer of earth which stops the water as it rises. We

call this a mulch.

When the shoots are six inches high choose the three finest little corn

seedlings in the group of five. Pull the others out. The reason for

putting in five kernels in the first place, instead of three, is that

some may not come up. And, too, some that do come up may be poor and

sickly.

Myron did a very stupid thing. At least he called it stupid. Some one

sent him a packet of seed popcorn. Myron thought it would be pretty

interesting to raise some and supply the club with popcorn at its

meetings all the next winter. Now Myron did not know that from the corn

tassels the pollen when ripe or dry blows all over the corn field. This

pollen falls on the silk of corn plants anywhere in the field. The

pollen fertilizes the plant and the ear of corn sets and grows. Because

the pollen being light is blown to such distances and because different

kinds of corn can interpollinate, is reason enough for not planting

different varieties of corn in one patch.

Myron's popcorn and sweet corn fertilized each other and he got a corn

which was a cross between the sweet corn and popcorn. He learned a

lesson of pollination, but at the expense of the corn crop.

One may plant early and late corn in the same patch but otherwise he

should stick to one kind of corn.

The boys in the fall were to submit twelve of the finest ears they had

raised. These were to be scored or sized up as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------

| NAME OF CONTESTANT | VARIETY OF | DATES OF PLANTING |

| | CORN | |

| .................. | ..............| ................. |

|------------------------------------|-------------------|

| (1) Ear: | | |

| A. Trueness to type | 10 | |

| B. Shape | 10 | 20 |

|------------------------------------|---------|---------|

| (2) Filling of: | | |

| A. Tip | 10 | |

| B. Butt | 10 | 20 |

|------------------------------------|---------|---------|

| (3) Kernels: | | |

| A. Shape | 6 | |

| B. Arrangement of cob | 12 | |

| C. Depth | 6 | |

| D. Colour | 6 | 30 |

|------------------------------------|---------|---------|

| (4) Measurements of ear: | | |

| A. Length | 10 | |

| B. Circumference | 10 | 20 |

|------------------------------------|---------|---------|

| (5) Proportion of Corn to Cob: | 10 | 10 |

|------------------------------------|---------|---------|

| Total 100 |

|--------------------------------------------------------|

This score card needs a little explanation. Take up (1) Ear, first. All

the twelve ears presented ought to be much alike; that is, like the type

or parent ear you are striving to produce again. So if, out of twelve

specimens, six were fine ears and the other six were rather poor, then

surely ten credits or points could not be given. The shape of an ear

should in general be tapering, well rounded a little below the centre,

and tapering not too abruptly toward the tip.

The second point is the Filling of the Tip and Butt. The tip should be

filled with even, regularly arranged kernels. It should not be too

pointed nor too blunt. The butts should be covered over with kernels

except where a deep, clean-cut depression is left. Here, as in the tips,

the shape has to be considered, for flattened and blunted butts are bad

form.

As to Kernels, they should be uniform and well-shaped, not only on the

single cob, but in all the specimens. The furrows must be uniform,

regular, and with only a slight space between. To determine depth cut a

square inch right out of an ear. All kernels should be of one colour. If

a red kernel is in with the white then there has been an intermixing.

All kernels on all ears ought to have the colour of those of the type

form.

Not only should there be a proper proportion between Length of Ear and

Circumference, but an ear may be too long. The usual length of ears is

from eight to twelve inches, according to variety.

We have spoken of cob-relation before. This cannot be determined

accurately by your eye but must be done by weight; so shell the corn,

weighing the ear first. Now weigh the cob. The difference is weight of

corn. Divide the weight of the corn by the weight of the ear. This gives

per cent. of corn. For the exhibit the boys afterward used half their

samples submitted and reckoned per cent. on this. The proper percentage

of corn to cob should be 86 or 87 per cent. You can easily find out if

you come up to standard.

Myron brought in some corn merely to show his mistake but of course did

not submit any.

Jack, you will remember, did not test his corn and results showed this.

Out of his twelve samples there were two good ears. The others showed

many changes. The poorly filled tips, irregular rows, and wide space

between rows--all these scored against Jack. George's corn was thrown

out because black kernels were found here and there in with the others.

Albert's and Jay's Peep-o-day came out in fine shape. But Peter's

Country Gentleman after all had the record. Philip dropped out of the

race because he went on a summer vacation. So for a slight amount Peter

took over Philip's corn hills.

That fall the boys made very careful selection of seed corn.

"After all," Myron said one night at club meeting, "although Peter's

corn was the only really fine specimen, I think some of the rest of us

got fully as much out of the corn contest."

"So do I," added Jack; "and I, for one, shall test corn after this."

"I think our corn was pretty good," Albert went on in a half-injured

way; "but we are going to beat that record next year. We shall rotate

our crop, planting our corn where the beans were this season. That's a

thing fellows ought to know; that it's a mighty good thing to rotate

crops."

"What's that?" asked Philip.

"Rotating crops means not always planting the same crop on the same

piece of land, but changing every two or three years. It happens that

beans are very good to plant before corn. They do not take from the

soil, The Chief says, what the corn needs. So a piece of soil planted to

beans gets in shape for corn planting another year. It would not be well

to plant corn on a certain piece of land more than two successive

years. Then something else should be planted on this land and the corn

put somewhere else."

"Good!" said The Chief. "Some day we shall discuss rotation of crops

more fully. There are no end of topics for us to work over this next

winter."

THE GIRLS' SECRET WORK

The girls were each to raise something special at their own home and

then each was to have a share in a big garden. Katharine, who had quite

a lovely yard, was to give the space for the general garden. This was

largely because Katharine's home was on the river road, a bit out of the

village and near none of the boys' places, for the girls wished to keep

the knowledge of their work from the boys as long as possible. Helena

lived next house to George and the land she might have used for this big

garden would have bordered George's corn patch. So that, of course,

would never do.

The garden while formal was ornamental. The girls were all to work on

the staking out and preparation. But each girl was then to take a

section of it and plant and care for that.

Katharine was to take the centre portion of grass and cannas. Now a

grass plot is very pleasing in a garden. It is restful to the eye and is

much more harmonious with the other colours in a garden than a mass of

brilliant blossoms. Cannas have some height, a delicate splash of colour

in the blossom and so work in well. It is always well to put some

tall-growing plant in the centre. The effect is that of working up to a

climax. One should not immediately jump from very low flowers in the

beds to a few tall ones in the centre. This is ludicrous. Make the

gradation gradual from low to high.

This garden of the girls may seem almost to violate this principle. Not

so, for the nasturtiums merely acted as a border. Then all around the

garden were the zinnias, poppies and marigolds a step up to the cannas.

One may buy tall or rather low growing cannas. These latter grow about

four feet high. They chose these low ones with yellow and orange in the

blossom to harmonize with the yellow and orange of the nasturtiums.

Note the proportional amount of grass space in the girls' garden.

Observe too that it is the centre of interest.

The nasturtium border was Elizabeth's. Zinnias were chosen by Helena,

and Katharine was to help in this work. Eloise loving the mignonette had

asked for it, poppies were Josephine's and marigold was for Dee. Ethel

wanted the border of sweet alyssum although it represented a long strip

to work.

[Illustration Diagram: Scale 1/8 in.-1 ft.

Note the proportional amount of grass space in the girls' garden.

Observe, too, that it is the centre of interest.]

If you think over this garden with its brilliant poppy colour, the

heavy yellow of the marigold, the lighter colour effect of yellow in the

nasturtium, the dark red zinnia--quite a splash of colour, was it not?

In order to have great masses of brilliant colour in the same garden one

must break them in some way. There are two possibilities that are good:

first, paths between beds, and second, borders of white or

inconspicuously coloured plants. Sweet alyssum is good for this purpose

and so too is mignonette. Mignonette has such a small and modest little

flower that one thinks always of mignonette in terms of green. The

mignonette was massed at the entrance of the garden for pleasing and

subdued effect.

In staking out a garden it is well first to put heavy stakes, like the

ones the boys made, in each of the four corners of the entire plot and

put a string around. This strings off the outline of the entire garden.

Sight along the lines as Jay and Albert did to be sure the lines are

straight. In sloping land true up with great care. On a level bit of

land sighting is easy.

Next if there is a main path string that off using twine, stakes and

always sighting. If the garden is a large one of many small plots the

next thing to do is to string lengthwise the entire garden, measuring

off plots and paths. Then widthwise measure off paths. The side paths

give you the width-boundary of the plots. But the paths have cords

through portions of them. So put stakes in the corners of the plots. Cut

the cord in the centres of cross paths and tie to stakes. If carefully

done each plot is marked off shipshape.

In general make the main paths four feet wide, plot paths or side paths

eighteen inches. Plots with widths about one-third of the lengths are

right. This did not hold true for this garden since the beds were long

narrow strips. In such cases the width should be a comfortable one to

lean over and work across.

In staking such a garden plot as the girls' it is well to first line off

with stakes and cord the entire outline of the garden. Then next string

off main paths and intermediate ones. It is very easy then to string off

the beds, for the path boundaries have done most of the work for you.

The girls planted all their seeds except poppy and grass seed in drills

just as one plants lettuce and radish. This is a far easier way to plant

since as the little seedlings come up one can easily distinguish the

nice even row of little plants from weeds. They decided later that it

would have been easier if the poppy had come up in drills. For it came

up in little tufts here and there. And, sad to say, the poppy does not

stand transplanting.

In making drills take two stakes and a string. To either end of the

string tie a stake. The length of the string after tying should be the

length of the drill one wishes to make. This will be usually either the

length or width of the bed. This, then, is your line for the drill

making.

Another thing the girls did which makes garden measurements easy is the

following: mark off on the rake or hoe handle three feet. One of these

feet measure off into inches. This saves carrying a measuring rod into

the garden. The marking should be done on the edge of the handle and not

on either the under or upper surface of it. If garden stakes are made

one foot in length they can be used in measuring.

Nasturtium culture needs some explanation. Nasturtiums are the most

accommodating of flowers. They will live on almost any soil. The seeds

are large and so are very easy for little girls to handle. They may be

placed two seeds together six inches apart in the furrow. If the soil is

very dry and the weather very warm, soak the seeds over night. Plant

the seeds about one inch deep, cover over the soil and firm it well. It

is easy enough to keep the nasturtium bed weeded for the seedlings are

large and not to be mistaken. Keep the flowers well picked all summer

and you will have numberless blooms.

Sweet alyssum is a charming border plant. This, too, grows in almost any

soil. It is well to sow the seed in a box indoors. Transplant when the

little seedlings are two inches high. But alyssum may be sown right

outdoors in the garden plot. Sprinkle the seeds along in the drill.

After the seedlings come up and are about an inch high thin out until

the seedlings stand six to twelve inches apart.

Marigolds are very gay sort of flowers. Many do not like them on account

of their disagreeable odour. But a strong point about these flowers is

this: they bloom and bloom, and then they bloom again. There are three

kinds of marigolds one might plant. These are the African, French and

dwarf. They differ in height and also bushiness. The African varieties

must be thinned out to stand fifteen inches apart, the French ten inches

and the dwarf six inches. These seeds are dry, dead looking chaps, but

are not so small that they cannot be handled separately and placed

carefully in the drill. Plant them nearer together than they are to

stand later. For instance, put the African five inches apart, the French

five inches, too, and the dwarf three inches. Then you have extras, so

if some do not come up your garden is not crippled.

Mignonette, again, is accommodating and will grow in almost any kind of

soil. These seeds are small and may be sprinkled along in the drill.

Later thin out so the plants stand from six to twelve inches apart. In

choosing mignonette seed remember that there is a great difference in

mignonette. Some is very sweet, some is not: some have large sturdy

spikes, while others have rather small spikes. It pays to buy good seed.

Poppy is a trifle more particular about the soil it grows in. It

requires a rather rich, sandy loam. Again remember that poppies never

stand transplanting. Poppy may be planted broadcast or in drills. The

tall growing varieties should finally stand eighteen inches apart and

the smaller ones nine inches. In order that poppies may blossom freely

you should never let a seed capsule form. For you see that if one wishes

bloom, one must not let the strength of a plant go to any other work

except blossom making.

Zinnias are satisfactory just as marigolds are. To be sure they are not

a very graceful flower. But what of that? We need all kinds of flowers.

When you buy the little packets of seed you usually get a mixture of

colour.

In order to have just the colour one wishes, seed must be bought from

the seedsman by the ounce. The girls wanted dark red zinnia. One ounce

planted this space. It is not as expensive to buy seed this way. A

number of people may club together for seed.

Helena's method of planting zinnia was to sow the seeds in a drill.

Later she thinned her seedlings so that they stood eight inches apart in

the row.

Cornflowers or bachelor's buttons are lovely too. They are far lovelier

if bought by bulk so one may have the one colour, that lovely blue.

These seeds may be planted in drills two seeds every six inches apart.

Later thin to twelve inches apart.

Most people start cannas from the bulb. When one does this, plant a good

sized bulb and leave about an inch of stalk above ground. If the bulbs

are smaller use two to a hole or planting. If cannas are started from

seed follow this direction: File holes in the canna seed. The reason for

this is that the outer crust is tough and filing helps the young plant

to get out. These seeds should be soaked in warm water for a day. Plant

in pots. When the plants are six to eight inches tall transplant to the

garden. Cannas should stand two to six feet apart. It depends on

variety, whether tall or dwarfed, how far apart to place them.

When the flower garden was first started the question arose: "Shall we

plant annuals, biennials or perennials."

"For my part," said Josephine, "I don't know at all what these words

mean."

Katharine got a dictionary and soon she and Eloise had these botanical

terms worked out as follows:

A perennial is a plant which lives year after year in the soil. It

usually blossoms its second season. Trees and shrubs are hardy

perennials.

A biennial is sown one year, blossoms the next and then dies. Biennials

should be covered lightly with straw or leaves through the winter.

An annual blossoms and dies its first season. But some annuals sow

themselves and so come up again the next season.

The girls worked out a table of planting by months which Ethel called

the plant time-table.

Besides the garden which the girls all had together each one did

something to improve things at home.

THE FLOWER TIME-TABLE

+--------------+-------------+--------------------+

| NAME | SOWING TIME | BLOSSOMING TIME |

+--------------+-------------+--------------------+

|Ageratum | May | June-October |

|Aster | May | Until frost |

|Balsam | May | June-September |

|Calendula | May | June-October |

|Cal. Poppy | May | August |

|Candytuft | May | June-September |

|Coreopsis | May | June-August |

|Cornflower | April | June |

|Cosmos | May | August-September |

|Four o'clock | May | July-August |

|Foxglove | May | June |

|Gaillardia | May | July-October |

|Helianthus | May | August-September |

|Hollyhocks | August | August |

|Iceland Poppy | May | June-September |

|Larkspur | May | June-July |

|Marigold | May | Until frost |

|Mignonette | May | Until frost |

|Morning-glory | May | July-August |

|Petunia | May | July-September |

|Phlox | May | July-October |

|Scabiosa | May | July-August |

|Stock | May | June-July |

|Sunflower | April | July-September |

+--------------+-------------+--------------------+

Ethel and Dee set up a sundial in Ethel's own backyard. The directions

that follow will help other girls and boys in setting up theirs.

Sun-time and clock-time are not quite the same. There are four days in

the year when, if you work out the sun-shadow time, your dial will be

almost accurate. This is because on these days the sun-time and the

clock-time practically coincide. These dates are April 15th, June 15th,

September 1st, and December 24th.

Before you go outdoors draw on the platform of the sundial a straight

line from angle B of the gnomon to the front edge of the platform.

Set the dial out in direct sunlight. The shadow cast must fall right on

the straight line which you previously drew. When the shadow and the

line coincide, mark the extreme end of the line XII. This stands for

twelve o'clock. Now screw the sundial in this position to the column you

have made for it to rest upon. At one o'clock mark where the shadow

points, and keep on with this for every hour.

You remember the gnomon angle was the number of degrees corresponding to

the degrees in latitude of your special place. Poughkeepsie boys and

girls will be interested to know that if a sundial be brought to them

from Rome, it will be right for them. And if New York City boys and

girls could get one from Florence, they would find it accurate for their

own use. These girls lived near Poughkeepsie.

Elizabeth planted a border of nasturtium, sunflower and zinnia along her

sidewalk. It cost eight cents for seed to plant these two by ten feet

strips.

Helena made a bed of different kinds of flowers right back of her

father's field. The garden was thirteen and one-half feet square. The

edges her father helped her sod, this making a terrace effect. Nine

little flower beds were marked off with paths between. In the beds were

asters, celosia, balsam, nasturtiums, marigold, zinnia, carnation,

schizanthus, sweet peas, dahlias, gladiolus, candytuft, lilies,

scabiosa, stocks, salvia, snapdragon, phlox, mignonette, four o'clocks

and petunias. Helena's mother worked with her in the garden as did one

of the boys across the street. He was not a club member but was hoping

to be one the next year. And so Leston worked with Helena all summer

long. He finally won his place in The Chief's club.

Eloise decided she would have a window garden and so before all the

front windows of the inn, window boxes were placed.

Most of the trouble with the window box is a lack of drainage space.

Estimate off the bottom of the box something like this: To every foot

bore six holes. This is none too much. The great trouble usually is lack

of drainage, or lack of air, or sour soil. Over each drainage hole put a

bit of broken pot. Then it is well to put a half-inch of drainage

material in the box. Stone, broken pot, sphagnum moss, or hay will do

for this. The soil should be good, rich, garden soil. With this one

might mix in some sand to help drainage. Window boxes should be watered

with care; they should not be flooded.

Eloise had very effective boxes. Vincas trailed over the edges; dwarf

cannas were in the back of each box; and red and white geraniums were a

glory all summer long.

Josephine's gardening was a little difficult. She had no space at all.

The backyard at her house was seeded down and her mother did not wish it

spaded up. She had no front yard. Josephine thought and thought for some

time, then decided she would just simply have to make a way to have a

garden.

So one day she went to the grocery store and bought a soap box for ten

cents. This she filled with soil from Eloise's garden. Then she bought a

five-cent package of parsley seed. These seeds were soaked over night in

warm water, for parsley seeds are slow to germinate.

Then the seeds were planted in neat little rows in her box garden. This

garden was most convenient. It stood out near the house in the backyard

all summer. It went to the exhibit in the fall. It stayed on the piazza

until frost and then went into the kitchen for the winter. Josephine had

parsley enough for her mother's table all the year around.

XVI

MORE ABOUT THE GIRLS' WORK.

In late September the girls began agitating the matter of bulb planting

for the school grounds and their homes. The boys were rather scornful of

it.

"I believe in gardens," said Albert with great finality, "but bulb work

seems to me like fancy work. And then too, bulbs are pretty expensive."

"Very well," answered Dee, "we girls are quite able, as you boys know,

to work alone. But spading is pretty hard, and I should think some of

you would be glad to help."

"I'll help any time," Myron volunteered, "and I promise to bring two of

these other chaps whenever you say."

"Thank you, Myron. We'll not bother you boys further now." Off the girls

ran to Katharine's home to study bulb catalogues. Katharine's father

gave five dollars for bulbs for the school grounds. This he stipulated

was for outdoor planting. Elizabeth and Ethel were going to plant

outdoors at home. The other girls had each some money for indoor work.

You may all like to know what the girls found out from their search in

bulb catalogues. In the first place very good and perfectly reliable

information is obtained from the catalogue of any reputable seed house.

The girls found out that certain bulbs are better adapted to outside

planting, while others do equally well indoors or out. Take tulips

first; these are suited to the outdoor conditions. To be sure the

florist, whose business it is to raise them inside does so with great

success. But boys and girls are more likely to have trouble with inside

planting of tulips than of other bulbs. Oftentimes lice cover them when

the bulb is first brought up from the cellar. Then when treated with

kerosene emulsion or some other insecticide the bud becomes blasted, for

the blossom is close under the folded outer leaves, so is in a very

precarious position. Then, too, tulip bulbs rot easily and the buds

blast easily. So it is wise not to run so many risks but try the kinds

of bulbs which are less prone to trouble. The easiest and safest bulbs

for children to work with are narcissus (including daffodils, jonquils,

Chinese lily bulbs and paper narcissus), and hyacinth.

Hyacinth has one bad habit when planted indoors. This is the tendency

to unfold its blossom too soon. So the beautiful hyacinth blossom

appears dwarfed and stunted close down near the ground. To avoid this

condition do not take the bulb from the dark until the leaves are about

an inch to two inches above the earth and until they have spread apart.

This gives the blossom a chance to shoot up. Tip the pot over and see if

the roots are visible through the drainage hole.

The time to buy bulbs is in late August or early September. After this

bulbs through shrinkage depreciate in value; by which value is meant not

one in price but in soundness and ability to produce blossoms. Do not

buy cheap or cut-rate bulbs. Buy good, big, sound ones.

The Roman hyacinths are excellent for forcing. They are small flowered,

quite different from the large sturdy Dutch hyacinths more commonly

planted. In choosing hyacinths you have to decide upon the colour and

whether you wish double or single varieties. In general most people

enjoy single flowers better. If you are to use the hyacinths for outdoor

planting or bedding it is perfectly safe just to write for bulbs which

are to be bedded. La Grandesse is a beautiful white; King of the Blues

speaks for itself and the Sarah Bernhardt is a salmon pink. These do

well inside, too. Charles Dickens is a fine rose colour, Prince of

Wales, violet, and L'Innocence, a fine white. These are good for inside

planting. Some may like the smaller Roman hyacinths, which do splendidly

indoors. Very good hyacinths are bought for fifteen cents.

Tulips do especially well outdoors. A capital one for either bedding or

indoor forcing is the Isabelle. It is a beautiful red tulip which is

bought for five cents. The Summer Beauty, a hardy white tulip, is well

worth the ten cents asked for each one. Some of you may like to raise

some freaks; then try parrot tulips at about thirty-five cents a dozen.

A thing to remember about the indoor planting of tulips is this--tulips,

more than other bulbs, are likely to have plant lice, so watch out!

In daffodils you may be sure of the Van Sion. These are worth forty

cents a dozen. You can buy daffodils for twenty.

If you wish to lay in a stock of bulbs for water planting choose, of

course, Chinese lilies, but try, too, the paper white narcissus. These

bulbs cost forty cents a dozen. Buy from the five-and-ten-cent store a

glass dish, and gather stones for it. About three weeks before you wish

blossoms plant a dozen of these narcissi in the glass dish with the

stones as a foundation, and water enough to come up around the base of

the bulbs. It is a good plan to set the dish of bulbs in the dark for

four or five days.

You can grow hyacinths in water too. For this a special glass is sold,

although I have seen children place a bulb in the top of a preserve jar.

It works all right. Bulbs must never drop low into water or they decay.

These, too, should be placed in the dark for about a week.

Suppose you have a quarter to spend. You can make all kinds of

interesting combinations. Three daffodils for ten cents, a hyacinth for

ten, and a tulip for five, give you a chance to experiment.

A word more about narcissus. This is a large family, One gets confused

sometimes with the names daffodil, jonquil and paper white narcissus.

All these are of the family narcissus. The daffodils are the bulbs with

large single or double cups. The jonquil has a cluster of small blossoms

of from three to six single flowers. The paper white narcissus has four

to twelve single blossoms to the flower head.

Ethel and Dee had good lawns at home which their mothers were not

willing to have spaded up, but they gave consent to the girls putting

crocus bulbs here and there over the lawns. These bulbs should be

planted about an inch deep and three inches apart in the group. These

were dotted about in clusters of six. The dibble is a good instrument to

use in dotting bulbs around the turf. Crocuses are good for indoor

planting as well. They may be planted in flats or in indoor boxes.

Remember crocuses are of practically no use for cut-flower purposes.

The school tulip bed was made just as Philip's round bed was made. The

time to plant depends on the weather. It is always well to get all

outdoor planting done before the time of frost. Why? Because you wish to

get the bulbs in while the earth is still warm. Bulbs lie in the ground

all winter slowly putting out roots, slowly starting to push up toward

the light above. For good root forming they need this long time of slow

growth. Get the outdoor bulbs in the ground during September.

Before this the ground may be prepared. In all the beds dig down about

two feet. Work over the soil well. Make it fine and free from lumps and

stones. Ordinary garden soil will be right for these beds. Put no

fertilizer in. If your ground is clayey, mix sand with it. Use

one-quarter sand in a mixture of this sort. This makes a lighter soil.

Clay soil is what we call a heavy soil. Bulbs require light soils.

Now comes planting. Different kinds of bulbs require different depths

of soil. Place the tulip bulbs four inches deep, and six inches apart.

Hyacinths were planted by Elizabeth in a strip beside the house. Jack

also planted daffodils in a corner sheltered by the house foundation and

an old high fence. The daffodils were planted exactly as the tulips, but

the hyacinths were planted six inches deep, instead of four.

In buying bulbs for outdoor planting ask for bedding bulbs, while for

indoor work buy forcing varieties.

One bright day in October the girls met at Katharine's house to pot

their bulbs for winter. Some had made wooden boxes or flats during the

winter; others had bought low pots; while still others had the ordinary

high pot.

In potting bulbs or any other plant two things are to be kept in

mind--first, the soil, and second, the drainage. The soil may be any

good garden soil. To a given quantity one may add one-fourth rotted

manure and one-fourth sand. This last helps lighten the material,

allowing more air to get at the entire mass and making good drainage

easier. Mix all this together. If one lacks the well-rotted manure and

sand, any good garden soil may be used. Sift the soil until it is

perfectly fine.

A simple sieve, which works well, may be made from a small soap or

starch box. Knock the bottom out and use in place of this wire netting.

Helena and Eloise made two sieves which did for all the girls. Eloise

also made some very good flats as described before under the chapter on

the girls' winter work. You can easily see how excellent this style of

flat is from a drainage point of view.

More trouble, in potted bulbs and all kinds of plants, comes from too

little drainage space than from any other one thing. Most boys and girls

think it enough if one little stone or piece of pot is put in the hole

of the flower pot. Not so; there should be from one to two inches of

drainage material in the pot. That seems a great deal, doesn't it? But

it will give not only drainage but air space, too, and this keeps the

plant in good healthy shape. With too little drainage area the earth in

a pot gets clogged and very often sour. A high pot needs more drainage

matter in it than a low one. First use a piece of broken pot to place

over the drainage hole. But put this in such a position that the

drainage hole will be kept open. Then put in two inches of coarse

material like broken pot. It is now a good plan to place over this a

layer of coarse material. This gives a greater opportunity for air. Over

this goes the soil you have already prepared. Place bulbs just below

the surface and have soil one inch below the top of pot. Narcissus and

hyacinths may be planted with their tops out of the soil.

A low pot needs less drainage material. Some pots have sphagnum moss

over the drainage. Instead of this use old sod finely torn up or coarse

soil. See, too, that the bulb comes nearly to the top of the soil. When

indoor bulbs are planted at some distance below the surface of the soil

they have too much work to do to force their way up and out. It takes

too long.

After the girls had finished potting the next step was to make

arrangements for the resting time. Bulbs should stay in the dark and

cold from five to ten weeks. It is difficult to give an exact time as

conditions differ and bulbs too.

Bulbs may take their retirement in a dark cold cellar where there is no

danger from mice. Some attics are suited for this. Eloise put hers in an

old bureau. This bureau was in an unused, cold room. The bulbs were

placed in the drawers which were then closed, but not tightly. Ethel,

Dee and Josephine put theirs in the cellar. Helena, Elizabeth and

Katharine tried another plan. They had a trench dug outdoors two feet

deep and eighteen inches wide. In this they placed their pots and

flats. Then the trench was filled in with dirt and over this a layer of

ashes was put. The pots were given a good watering before they were sunk

into the ground. Unless the winter is a very dry and open one the bulbs

will need no more water. If there should be little snow-fall then it may

be necessary to water the ground where the bulbs are, but this is not

usual. Little sticks were put into the ground just where the bulbs were.

These help in locating them when digging-up time comes. The girls left

them in the ground for six weeks. Then they were taken in and put in a

cold north window for a week. Helena put hers in the dark a week and

then brought them to a north window for another week. Then she put them

in a south window.

Bulbs should go very slowly from dark and cold to warmth and light. This

is a point to be remembered.

The girls who stored their pots in attic and cellar of course had to

water them. This should be done as often as the plant needs it, perhaps

three times a week.

[Illustration:

THE BULB STORY

1. Ample Drainage

2. Depth of Planting

3. Perfect Root Development

4. Ready to Come to the Light

Photographs by H.E. Angell and Henry Schultz.]

When the plant is about an inch above the ground, as one of the pictures

shows, it is the time to bring it to the light. Be sure the outer leaves

have spread apart in the ease of hyacinths and tulips; also invert the

pot and see if the roots are poking through; this is another way to be

sure that the bulb is ready to come to the light.

A way to help a hyacinth or tulip develop its stems properly and so

prevent blossoming low down in the box is to put a cone over the bulb as

soon as you bring it to the light. Make the cone of paper and have one

opening at the top two inches in diameter. The flower stem and leaves of

the bulb will quickly start to grow up to the light. Take this cone off

when the leaves are several inches high.

The girls did some water-planting, too. For this purpose hyacinths,

Chinese lilies, paper narcissus and jonquils are good. Some people put

these dishes and glasses immediately in the light. But it is better if

they are set away in the dark until the shoots start and the roots, too,

begin development. The girls bought glass dishes at the

five-and-ten-cent store. Into these dishes were put small stones which

they had gathered in the fall for this purpose. Stones should be small

for this work, from one-half inch to an inch in diameter. Josephine had

a lot of fine white sand which she packed in all about the stones. The

sand was kept thoroughly wet all the time. This is a good method of

treatment. Paper white narcissus, if planted early, will blossom by

Thanksgiving. They may be held back until Christmas. These blossoms are

sweet smelling and very graceful in appearance. Eloise tried the same

method with jonquils with excellent results.

In February they had a bulb exhibit and their display was really fine.

In the spring they all felt that the outdoor work, too, had paid. The

beds were uncovered as early as possible. The outdoor bulb will stand

considerable cold, even after it is well up. Cut worms may trouble the

hyacinths; if so try the paper collar treatment.

Finally remember then three things about bulbs: good bulbs, good

drainage, plenty of time in the dark.

After bulbs are through blooming let the blossom dry thoroughly and the

leaves get yellow and dry. One need not keep these homely looking plants

in the living room in plain sight. Put them away down cellar to finish

drying out. Then cut the leaves and blossoms off to one inch of the bulb

itself. Take bulb out of pot, shake all dirt off, and dry thoroughly.

These may be put into paper bags and hung up in a dry place or just

packed in a pasteboard box. These indoor bulbs may be planted outdoors

in the fall. They will do better for the change. Indoor bulb culture

means forcing, a hard strain and demand on a bulb. Outdoor planting

gives a long winter's rest, not entire rest, to be sure, but the growth

during the winter is slow.

LIST OF BULBS BY COLOURS

WHITE FLOWERS

---------+-------+-------+---------+-------+-------------------------

| TO | | | |

---------+-------+-------+---------+-------+-------------------------

Snowdrop 2 in. March Christmas 3-4 in. Earliest of spring

flowers. Likes

cool and shady

spots

Crocus 2 in. " " 3-5 in. Buy _Crocus_

_biflorus_.

var. _argenteus_

White 3-4 in. April January 10 in. Increases very

crowned rapidly

daffodils

Poet's 3-4 in. May " 12 in. Excellent for

narcissus outdoor work

Grape 3 in. March " 4-6 in. Plant in shady

hyacinth places in the lawn

Bell- 3 in. May Christmas 12 in. Poet's narcissus

flowered and this scilla

scilla planted together

bloom at same time

Star of 3 in. " 12 in. Most satisfactory

Bethlehem for bloom

Tulips 4 in. April January 6-12 in. Try Duc Van Thol

and d'Immaculée

Hyacinths 5 in. " " 6-12 in. Plant Baroness Van

Thuyl, very large

and very early

---------------------------------------------------------------------

YELLOW FLOWERS

---------+-------+-------+---------+-------+-------------------------

| TO | | | |

---------+-------+-------+---------+-------+-------------------------

Crocus 2-3 in. March Christmas 3-5 in. Plant Cloth of

Gold

Trumpet

daffodils 4 in. April January 15 in. Van Sion is especially

satisfactory. Flowers

double

Jonquil 4 in. " " 12 in. Flowers sweetly

fragrant

Daffodil 3 in. " " 4 in. Variety _Narcissus_

_Bulbocodium_

Tulips 4 in. " " 12 in. Due Van Thol,

yellow

Hyacinths 5 in. " " 12 in. Choose from those

called bedding

varieties

---------+-------+-------+---------+-------+-------------------------

BLUE FLOWERS

---------+-------+-------+---------+-------+-------------------------

| TO | | | |

---------+-------+-------+---------+-------+-------------------------

Common

crocus 2-3 in. March Christmas 5 in. Good for lawn

effects

Grape

Hyacinths 2-3 in. April January 15 in. Good for pot culture

Iris 4 in. May " 12-24 Plant in groups

(Spanish) in. for garden effect

Iris 3 in. June " 12-24 If planted outdoors in

(English) in. September, cover well

with leaves

Bulb- 2-3 in. May " 12 in. Satisfactory for

flowered bloom

scilla

Hyacinths 5 in. " " 12 in. King of the Blues

---------+-------+-------+---------+-------+-------------------------

RED FLOWERS

---------+-------+-------+---------+-------+-------------------------

| TO | | | |

---------+-------+-------+---------+-------+-------------------------

Peony 4 in. May 2 - Plant outdoors

2-1/2 ft. in September.

Increases and

lives a long time

Late 6 in. July 3 ft. Showy and

peony attractive

Red 6-8 in. August 3 ft. Protect through

speciosum the winter,

lily leaving bulbs

in the ground

Tulips 4 April January 6-18 in. Isabelle

Choose variety

----------------------------------------------------------------------

XVII

THE GIRLS' WINTER WORK.

"We want some plants at school this winter, and we each should like some

plants of our own at home." This remark greeted The Chief one day in

late September as he entered his home after a long tramp in the woods.

The slant rays of the late afternoon sun and the low fire in the

fireplace were not able to give The Chief any clue as to the speakers.

"Who are '_we_'?" he demanded.

"I am Dee," was the reply, "and 'we' are all the girls."

"Dear me" said the man, "I thought I had settled your case by

recommending bulb culture to you."

"Not much!" shouted the girls all together. "We have finished our bulb

work," Katharine went on to say, "and now we are very anxious to do

something with house plants. We have a good six weeks or more to wait

for our bulbs, and so we thought possibly you would be willing to help

us."

"I did think," grumbled the man, "that after I had invited you to a

series of talks this winter you would leave me in peace."

And then they all laughed gaily together.

"Well, what is your stock you have to work with, girls? I shall have to

know that before I can help you."

"We have--that is, most of us have--a lot of old straggly geraniums in

our gardens. Then Katharine's mother has some fuchsias and begonias

which she has promised us," replied Miriam.

"Up at the hotel where Jack sold his lettuce there are a few things I

have been promised," added Elizabeth.

"Do you know what these are?" asked Ethel.

"Yes. There are some heliotrope plants, marguerites, some lovely rose

geraniums, and a few flowering maples or--I have forgotten the long name

for them."

"Abutilon is the other name," added The Chief. "Well, that is a start,

surely. I'll do some potting with you next Saturday afternoon. That will

give Elizabeth time to get her hotel plants. I guess Dee will drive you

up. You are to take a big basket with you, and your trowels. Carefully

lift each plant from its resting-place. Water the soil a bit before you

take up the plants. They come up easier for this, and soil is more

likely to remain clinging to the roots. If it should rain Friday you

will be saved the trouble of taking a watering pot with you. Be sure to

take up with the plant some of its own soil. Then pack all these

soil-encased plants in your basket. Do not let the sun get at them

before we get at potting. Come all of you at two in the afternoon. Bring

your plants with their own earth, your straggly geraniums, pots, and

each a trowel. Now perhaps you will be willing to trot home so I may eat

my supper."

Next Saturday at two a grand collection of girls, plants, big pots,

little pots, and trowels arrived. The Chief took girls and all out into

his potting shed. This was once an old woodhouse; now a shed with

benches running along two sides of it. Under the benches were great

heaps of soil. Pots and pans were piled in one corner and garden

implements were neatly put up on the walls.

"I call this a pretty nice place for work," said Eloise in tones full of

real interest. The Chief nodded smilingly at her, for there was a bond

of sympathy between the man and this real outdoor girl. Eloise had a

greater appreciation of the work than any one of the others.

"Where did that splendid window box come from?" asked Josephine.

"That is one the boys made last winter especially for the school. I

shall have to give you girls some group work first. Then I'll

demonstrate potting and slipping to you all together. Eloise and

Josephine will start to put the drainage material into the pots. Ethel

and Dee may do the same for the window box. Put in your curved pieces of

pot over the drainage hole, then about an inch of drainage material.

There is a wooden mallet. Crack up some bits of old flower pot as you

need them. Outside is a half barrel of old pots. Instead of using all

pot for this half inch of drainage material, use some charcoal. In that

barrel marked charcoal you will find plenty of pieces. The charcoal is

not only good for drainage but helps keep the soil sweet. Helena, Miriam

and Katharine will mix the soil. Here are some firkins and peck

measures. To every three measures of soil from that pile there, which is

nothing but garden soil, add one measure of sand and one of leaf mould.

Now, my leaf mould over there in that tub isn't real mould from the

woods. You see the part desired in leaf mould is vegetable matter. I can

get that from old rotted leaves and rotted sods. Notice, girls, that you

see no green grass in that soddy matter I have shaved off with my

spade--only the under surface of the sods. This surface is full of

vegetable matter in the form of young roots. Stir up all these portions

thoroughly.

"Now, Elizabeth, look at these pots. Some are brand new, some are

clogged with soil and green matter. Soak the new ones in a pailful of

water and clean and wash the dirty ones."

"I'd like to ask why I am to soak the new pots, and why, since soil is

going right back into these old pots, I have to clean them. I should

think the soil clinging to the sides would help out."

"Yes, I should like to know that, too," said Miriam, stopping her work.

"If new pots are not soaked the soil in them dries out very rapidly. You

can see that would be bad. Old soil clinging to plants interferes with

the new root growth while the green affects the porosity of the pot."

The girls stirred, scraped, and placed bits of pot in boxes and pots for

a time without speaking.

"Are we putting the right amount of drainage into these pots?" finally

questioned Eloise.

"Not quite enough into those large pots. In the small ones the inch of

drainage you have in the pots is quite sufficient, but in those pots

over six inches in size put an inch and a half of drainage material.

There should be two inches of drainage in that window box. Katherine,

you are taking those new pots out of the water too soon. Leave them in

until the bubbling is all over. Wait a minute, you mixing girls over

there. You mustn't put such coarse soil into your mixture. That could

well go into the pots and window box above the drainage material. But it

is far too coarse for a good potting soil. What soil you need for

potting one of you should sift. If the lumps were not so large it would

have been all right. What is that you are saying, Dee?"

"I wanted to know what you were going to use in place of sphagnum moss.

We have the drainage fixed in the box. Shall we put on the coarse

material next? Helena said you always used sphagnum moss."

"So I do when I can get it. But I can't always, so I just take some old

thin sods and put them on, green side down, next to the drainage. To be

sure, the coarse material could go on next, but it is very apt to settle

badly in the pot or box. You will find that sod just outside. Pick out

the very thinnest pieces; any others will be too thick."

"Now," said Elizabeth, "if you will bring your pots over, we'll fill

them up with soil for you."

"Wait a little, Elizabeth. What is going to happen with that pot

already full of soil when you put the plant in? Just how are you going

to work that?"

"Why, I had intended to make a hole in the soil and put the plant in."

"That is no way to pot plants. Come here, girls, and let us talk this

point out. I will pot a plant for you. I guess this begonia would be a

good one. See, it has quite a ball of earth of its own. Now look at

Elizabeth's full pot. Trying to plant in a pot already full of soil is

beginning entirely wrong. Hand over another pot, Josephine. Thank you.

See, here is a pot with its drainage, and a very little bit of old sod

over this. The soddy matter takes up only about a quarter inch. Give me

a trowel full of the potting soil, or a little coarse soil first. Now I

lower into the pot my plant with its own earth still about it. See, it

is going to be about right. Now, while I hold the plant in position in

the pot with my left hand, I shake the potting soil in all about the

plant. Here is a stick. I made it and call it my potting stick. It is

about the length of a foot ruler. See, it is about an inch thick and has

a rounded end. With this end I gently poke the soil into place.

Occasionally, I give the pot a little shake, which settles the soil into

crevices and crannies. But never do this jerkily or violently. When the

soil is within a half inch of the top of the pot, press it down all

about the plant stem; that is, firm the plant. You should be able to

take up a potted plant by the plant stalk without uprooting it. The

florist can do this with any of his potted plants. If the plant is loose

in its new home it will not do well."

"You said to have a half-inch space between top of soil and top of pot.

I should like to know why, because all the plants at my aunt's house are

done the other way," eagerly inquired Helena.

"The purpose of the half-inch space is for watering the plant. I should

be willing to wager that when your aunt waters her plants she has a bad

time with water spilling over and soil washing out. The space allows for

this and prevents its happening."

"I shall tell her about that when I go to see her. I am to go next week.

Don't you think I might carry her a plant nicely potted?"

"Indeed I do. I think we can spare a begonia for her. Just let me water

this plant a little. Notice that I do not flood it. Now, set it outside,

Elizabeth, right by my back door where it will be sheltered."

"Why put it outside?" asked the child, as she took the pot; "I'd have

left it here under shelter."

"It goes out because good fresh air is as important for newly potted

plants as good soil, careful handling, and watering. Now for a slipping

geranium lesson!

"Old, stocky geraniums in the fall garden are exactly right to slip.

These properly slipped and started, if well cared for, will blossom by

January or February. If closely crowded into the window box, you may be

certain of bloom provided you have good, strong sunlight on them.

Florists slip geraniums and put them into sand; many people put the

slips into water to form roots; but it is far easier for you children

and for schools to place the slips immediately into the earth of the

window box.

"The slipping process itself is easy. Suppose we have a big, old

geranium from which to take our slips. It is full of branches. These

branches or stems have around them at intervals rings called nodes. The

space between two nodes is called an internode. On the nodes are what

seem to be small leaves. Press one aside, notice between it and the stem

what appears to be a very small bud. Here a new shoot can start.

"So choose a branch, pick off all the large leaves except two at the

extreme end. If there are more than two, choose the two smallest

leaves. Now it is ready to cut. About four inches down the stem cut it

off between two nodes. Do not cut straight across the stem but cut

slantwise.

"You have now as I have in my hand, a geranium slip which is four inches

long. At one end of the stalk are two leaves; the other end is cut

obliquely across. Before you plant this slip look between the two leaves

and see if there is a small bud. If so, and it is all green, leave it.

For this green means that as the bud develops only leaves will unfold.

If you see any other colour in the bud, pinch it out with your fingers.

The colour tells us that the bud is a flower bud. If this be left on the

slip, all the strength of the little plant will be taken up in forming

the blossom. A new plant is not strong enough to stand this. It needs

all its power for plant growth.

"Plant the slip in your window box, burying it in earth above the first

node; that is, the node just above the cut. Thus you have buried in the

earth the place where roots will form.

"Crowd the slips in, three or four inches only apart. They should not be

exposed to the full glare of the sun at first. Some gardeners say to let

the slips wilt before watering. But it is quite safe to water a little

from the first. Do not soak the soil, however, or the young plants will

decay.

"Now the slips may be put right into a window box, or into these flats.

I would not place them immediately in a sunny window. But place them

where the sun does not shine directly. It is excellent to leave window

boxes and newly potted plants outdoors for a time, until in the fresh

air they get accustomed to their new living conditions."

"Shall we fix up the school window boxes now?" asked Josephine.

"Yes, we will get right at that. But first I will give you a window-box

talk.

"The most satisfactory way to grow plants in the schoolroom and in many

cases, at home, is in the window box. The window box means the

possibility of easily caring for a number of plants in a small space.

Plants in pots take much more space than the same number of plants in a

window box.

"It is the cleanest way, too. You are all familiar with the sight of a

pot covered with crêpe paper stained and discoloured from water spilt

upon it and moisture given off from the porous pot.

"The window box, if properly watered, need never leak. Its freshly

painted sides need never be covered with any material. It stands for

just what it is--a well-made, well-painted wooden box.

"It is quite impossible to give dimensions for the construction of the

window box, since it must fit the space one wishes to use. It is wise to

keep in mind this--that these boxes when filled with soil are very, very

heavy and awkward to handle. So if your window is large, why not have

two small boxes for the space rather than one large one? When these are

placed end to end the effect is of one long box. The ordinary house

window may well have the single box.

"Other things to keep in mind for the constructing of the box are depth,

drainage, holes, joints and paint.

"Just as bulb boxes need no great depth, so with window boxes. If the

depth be great the plants spend too much energy in root growth. A

shallow box means, if properly filled, a compact root mass. So if your

box is to be, say three and a half feet long make it not more than ten

inches deep.

"As we make drainage holes in the bottom of the bulb box, so we do in

the window box. Many people make window boxes without drainage holes. It

seems rather better to have them since they offer exit for surplus

water, and places for the roots to get at the air. These holes may be

bored six inches apart down through the centre of the box; or they may

be bored in two lines, thus doubling the number of holes and the amount

of air space. Take this rule, for every square foot of space have four

drainage holes.

"A box filled with soil all winter constantly in a state of moisture is

quite likely to spring or spread apart at the joints. The better fitted

the joints the better the box, and the better it stands the inside

pressure and moisture continually brought to bear upon it.

"As to paint, of course the box must have one coat (perhaps two) on the

outside. A dark green is all around the best. Green is always the best

setting for plants. Nature made this colour scheme. We only follow her

lead.

"After the box is made, and the paint dry, it must be filled.

"Do any of you girls happen to know just where in the school room the

boxes are to be placed?"

"One goes into a south window, and I believe the other is to be in a

north one," replied Dee.

"That certainly tells us enough to help us in selecting plants for these

boxes. The kind of plants to place in the box depends upon whether the

box is to go into a bright sunny window or into one which gets little

or no sun. Everyone knows the most satisfactory plant of all for sunny

windows is the geranium. It is easy enough to get them for schools

without money, because this is the time when everyone's mother is taking

up plants for the winter, some of which are always thrown away. Many

large, old plants slipped make six or more good little chaps. Begonias

are most satisfactory; you can plant these either in sun or shade. A

good one for a shady window is the one called the 'beefsteak' begonia.

"Fuchsias make a fine show. If you wish to have a plant of some height

do not choose a fern or palm, for these plants need so much water they

should always be planted by themselves in single pots or in fern dishes.

The amount of water required for a palm would cause ordinary plants,

like geraniums, to decay. So choose plants which take up about the same

quantity of water. For height, then, one might plant a flowering maple.

These are fine in leaf and blossom. So they add much to the box.

Dracenas are good for both sun and shade; so, too, is pandanus. The

foliage of this is pleasing. Much is added to the general effect if some

plants which form long hangers are put in, and planted close to the

front side of the box. In sun or shade the Wandering Jew grows. A bit

breaks off; it is stuck back into the earth and again it grows. Pieces

cut and put into water grow equally well. Trailing over the sides of the

vessel they are in, they make a pleasing effect in a corner, or by the

side of a window.

"An important thing to be remembered in connection with window boxes is

that the closer you plant the better the growth of the plants. It sounds

wrong. We think that plants ought to have space to grow in. They should,

usually; but space defeats the object of the window box, because the

idea is to have top growth and blossom. If you give plants a chance to

grow under the ground they will do it at a sacrifice to their growth

above ground. So crowd the plants in. The root growth, thus limited and

checked, gives added strength above. This is true too, in a measure, of

planting in pots. Most people put plants in too large pots, and so fail

often to get good top growth and blossom. Notice next time you drop into

a florist's shop the large palms in comparatively small pots. Why is

this? Just to get good growth of foliage.

"Finally, as to sunny and sunless windows: put into the boxes for the

shady windows plants which run to foliage, and into those for the sunny

windows plants from which you expect blossom. For blossoms, sun is

necessary.

"The last thing of all is the placing of the box. Shall it go on the

sill? Not if you wish to keep the sill in good condition. Shall it be

screwed to the casement? It may be, but it is hard to place each year,

and often the strain is too great on the screws. The best arrangement is

that of iron brackets screwed to the casement beneath the window sill.

These brackets when not in use may be folded in against the wall and so

are quite out of the way and do not have to be removed from schoolrooms

each spring when the box goes outdoors. The weight of the box is

sufficient to hold the brackets out, and so steadies them that it is not

necessary to even screw the box on. Two boys holding the brackets

straight, two others placing the box on, is all the labour needed to

make that box permanently secure. It remains here now until its journey

outdoors next spring.

"I would like to add the English ivy to the list of trailing plants for

the window box.

"Some people have candytuft and others marguerites in the indoor box.

They do not look as well through an entire indoor season as geraniums,

fuchsias and begonias. I think I'll ask Miriam, Elizabeth, and Helena

to work on the shady window box. We will use dracena, vincas, pandanus,

begonia and Wandering Jew. Ethel, Katharine, and Josephine fix up the

sunny window box--the fuchsia, heliotrope, marguerite, geraniums,

Wandering Jew, and English ivy. This will be a charming box. Dee, you

and I will plant the rest of these geranium slips for the girls."

They all worked away busily for some time. Then The Chief asked the

girls to come into the house for a time. As they entered the living room

they noticed an array of plants on the big table.

"Sit down, girls, I have a little gift for each of you. I wish you to

study and nurse these plants throughout the winter.

"This first tall, rather stiff-looking plant is called an aspidistra. It

is the best all-around plant for the house or schoolroom. It does not

need much or special care. Be sure to keep the leaves clean. See that

you do it, Miriam.

"This little Norfolk Island pine is the only one of the cone-bearing

trees that you can bank on. Notice that the method of branching is by

whorls. You are to have this plant, Elizabeth.

"I imagined that Eloise would love this little lemon tree called

Ponderosa. You can raise lemon trees from seed, but like the apple

tree, they need special attention before they grow good fruit.

"The Jersualem cherry tree is for Josephine. It does not absolutely need

sun. It, too, stands a great deal of neglect. Remember I am not

recommending neglect to you. I am giving you the house plants that are

of easiest culture. You will be glad to make note of this entire list.

Of course, the berries are the charm of this Jerusalem cherry tree.

"To Ethel I will give this lovely genista. It is the finest of all

yellow-flowered winter plants. As the blossoms fade they should be taken

off. Since this is a good winter flower, it should be allowed to rest in

the summer.

"The azalea is for Dee. It needs the same care as Ethel's plant. These

need not be thrown away next spring. But put them in a shady spot laid

on their sides.

"Helena's plant is a palm called the _Cocos Weddelliana_, and

Katharine's is a fern, the holly fern.

"I wish to tell you a bit about ferns and palms.

"In most school buildings and homes these two kinds of plants hold chief

place. This doubtless is because they, too, stand lack of attention.

Most people keep them water-logged because supposedly they are

accustomed to and need lots of water. We must keep in mind that while

ferns for instance are found outdoors in very damp spots, they are not

in places undrained and choked off from air. So the jardinière half full

of water does not quite represent the real environment of the fern.

"Going on with the fern there are a few points to hold in mind. Do not

permit the room temperature to fall below 55 degrees. Neither should it

rise above 70 degrees. Direct sunlight injures the delicate fronds of

ferns. A north window where there is light without direct sunshine is

the right fern place. Keep the leaves clean by spraying with clear water

on bright days. If bugs appear, spray weekly with tobacco water. This

solution should be very weak.

"The best varieties to grow are the sword, Boston, holly, and

maidenhair. Use spider ferns for a fern dish.

"Palms require great quantities of water, even temperatures, little

direct sunlight, and daily sponging of the leaves. A sponge dampened in

clean water is the best thing to use for this purpose. The most popular

and easiest-to-grow palms are the following: _Cocos Weddelliana_, date

palm, kentia, and the arcea."

"Will you tell us about the watering of plants?" asked Ethel.

"Surely, although I can say but little since it depends largely upon

good judgment. Water a plant when it needs it. Keep the soil moist but

not soaked. If plants are beginning to decay or a mould is coming on the

surface of the soil, the trouble usually is over watering. At such a

time let the soil of the pot or box dry out. Then water carefully after

that. If the pot is always damp or has become green you may know that

the trouble is either too much water or poor drainage."

"What pests are likely to attack our plants?" questioned Elizabeth.

"Lice and scale troubles are the chief pests of the house plants. You

all know plant lice. Use kerosene emulsion for these. The scale appears

as a scaly mass, usually on the stems of plants. These scales are living

animal forms. The best way to get rid of them is to wipe them off with a

rag soaked in kerosene emulsion."

"Why didn't you give some one a rubber plant?" was the next question

from Miriam.

"I guess because of its bad habit of growing so tall and losing its

lower leaves. They look like giraffes at the circus. But one may top

these plants."

"What is topping?" and "How do you do it?" burst from Dee and Helena at

the same time.

"I suppose you see that if one could get that nice-looking top off and

start again the old rubber plant would be all right. So about a foot

below the last leaf on the stalk--I mean the last leaf numbering from

the top--- you should start the operation. Cut a slit in the bark at

this place. Pack soil about the stem. Then encase this with sacking. So

you have a nice ball of earth packed about the stem. Let the ball be

about six inches in diameter. Keep it moist. You can sprinkle the water

on. After a time roots will appear coming through the sacking. The roots

have started to develop at this incision of the stem. Now the stalk may

be cut below these new roots and the new rubber plant potted."

"That is very interesting," began Katharine.

"I should so like to try it," broke in Dee.

"Now, girls, I believe you'd better pick up your new plants and scamper.

We certainly have done a good afternoon's work. The chief things to try

for in indoor plant culture are cleanliness of the plant, proper

drainage, and freedom from abrupt changes in temperature and draughts.

Good-by, girls. We meet again soon at our exhibits."

"Good-by, and thank you so much," cried the girls in chorus.

XVIII

THE GRAND WIND-UP--GIRLS VS. BOYS

One day in late September the Boys' Garden Club received an invitation

to Katharine's house for four o'clock the following Saturday.

Never were boys more astonished than these as they were ushered into the

girls' garden.

"Well," Albert said quite frankly, "you have beaten us as far as beauty

goes. You try vegetables next summer, and we fellows will race you."

"Thank you!" answered Dee, "You are very kind to us, very! You may

possibly have noticed those beautiful window boxes at the Inn. Eloise

made those herself, stocked the boxes, and has cared for them, too.

Elizabeth's borders have grown as well, I should say, as Jack's flowers.

Peter will tell you of our sundial. Helena has a beautiful garden. To be

sure Leston has helped her but only because he wanted to so badly. Girls

are not such bad gardeners, are they?"

"Not bad?" shouted the boys, "you are wonders!"

"Every fellow here give three cheers for the girls," commanded Jay.

This was done with a hearty good will.

A week later the girls received an invitation to attend the boys' fall

exhibit, held at The Chief's house. Early that morning the boys had gone

to the woods to gather autumn boughs. The walls were a blaze of

bright-coloured leaves. About the room were placed tables upon which the

boys' products were exhibited. Fathers and mothers had come to the

exhibit; in fact, the whole village had turned out.

The prize went to Peter, for he had made the most money out of his

garden.

Just a word from a talk given by The Chief about the arrangement of

exhibits and matters in general. He said, "There are as many ways to

prepare vegetables and flowers for an exhibit as there are boys and

girls to exhibit. It is not enough to bring the articles to be

exhibited. The real art of showing one's things comes in artistic and

attractive arrangement.

"Vegetables should be thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned. Dirt clinging to

the roots needs sometimes a brush to get it entirely off. Carrots,

beets, radishes, turnips, celery and other vegetables where the edible

part is beneath ground, need this sort of attention, not only to make

them clean, but to bring out the colours in each case.

"The foliage of a vegetable plant often adds much to its appearance in

exhibition. For instance, the carrot has quite lovely lacey leaves. Beet

leaves have such good red colours in them that they, too, add something

to the general effect. The colours of the leaf and the colour of the

fruit itself are a harmony. When radish leaves are taken off there is no

good way of bunching the radishes. They are cut quite off from kith and

kin.

"The only objection to the foliage is its wilting, drooping, tired

looking leaves certainly add nothing lovely to the exhibit. If the

exhibition is of short duration there is no trouble along this line; if

it is one of several days the problem is different.

"Children's exhibits, however, usually last but a short time. But if the

products can be put away in cold storage over night, or in water in a

cool place, then it is possible to keep them in good shape.

"An outdoor exhibit is not wholly satisfactory because of the effect of

the air on the products. They wilt badly. A tent is far better than the

open-air table for exhibiting. With care the exhibition may always be

made attractive.

"The arrangement of products is one of the main features. Generally

children's exhibits are pretty messy and mussy looking. This is because

of two things: first, the children have so many little separate

exhibits; second, we do not stop to discuss carefully the matter of

arrangement and preparation. If the children understood fully that no

products would be admitted for exhibition unless these were cleaned,

were of uniform size, and of the requisite number, there would be little

trouble. With them, arrangement would have to be worked out largely on

the scene of action, although colour effects, bunching, and general

matters could be taken up beforehand.

"Let us think out a few general directions for exhibiting. First, all

products must be thoroughly cleaned. Heading vegetables, as cabbage and

lettuce, should be cleaned well, and perhaps two heads of each kind

shown by the exhibitor. Radishes, carrots, young onions and small

vegetables which are to be bunched should have anywhere from twelve to

twenty specimens in the bunch. Leave the foliage on such bunches. The

large vegetables like beets and parsnips may have from four mammoth

specimens to eight smaller ones. Potatoes are exhibited by the plate and

so are tomatoes. There are supposed to be seven large specimens to the

plate.

"Flowers are usually shown cut and arranged in vases. The vases should

be of clear, white glass for the best effects. Rose bowls may be used,

too. Do not put grand collections of all varieties and colours of

flowers together. Suppose the exhibit of a certain person is to be one

of asters. Then put the purple ones together in a vase, the pink ones

together in another vase.

"Another mistake of exhibitors is the huddling of products into close

quarters. Give your individual specimens plenty of room. Let the things

stand out as individual. The entire exhibit is spoiled when it looks

messy and huddled up.

"The labelling is often done poorly. Any little piece of paper is stuck

on the vases or under a bunch of vegetables. The child's name is written

in abominable handwriting. Write or neatly print a little card. Put on

this the date, name of the exhibitor (or number) and his place of

residence, if required.

"These, in brief, show the real educative lines along which one ought to

conduct a children's exhibit. The aesthetic side enters in largely, and

a proper bit of the commercial is here, too."

Well, this exhibit of the boys' was pretty good. Each boy had a set of

photographs showing the round of his work. These had been made into

books. Some of the boys had kept diaries. The diaries had in them not

only an account of experiences, but also the tables worked out with The

Chief. Jack had what he called an improvement section, which gave ways

by which he might improve over his present methods of work. The garden

plans drawn to a scale were on the walls. Myron had brought his set of

real garden tools. The pieces of hand work made by the boys were there,

too.

George had made a collection of garden pests, while Philip and Peter had

made collections of weed pests. All the pamphlets from Washington which

they had used in their work and those from their own state experiment

station were on a little table.

Each boy told briefly the difficulties he had encountered and how he had

met them. After a talk by Jay, Albert spoke of the experiment in

inoculation of soil. Then he and Jay disappeared, and returned with

plates, one for each guest, and on each plate were two spoonfuls of

beans, one of the inoculated and the other of the uninoculated beans.

The visitors were not told which were which. Then a vote was taken as to

which were the better. Of course, the inoculated beans won out.

After this, the real refreshments were served. "I should like to ask,"

Dee made bold to say, "where you boys got strawberries to make ice cream

of? Strawberries in October! You certainly do not expect us to believe

you raised them."

"I did," said Myron, striking an attitude before her. "I did in my own

little patch."

"Did you make a few cakes of ice and thus have a cold storage plant?"

Dee continued sarcastically.

"Dear me, no! I'm much more clever than that. One day, with a few

baskets of berries tucked under this noble right arm of mine, I walked

to this house. I knocked at the door. A man let me in. He tied an apron

about this waist. We actually canned these same berries which you are

now eating as a frozen delicacy."

"You boys are altogether too smart," and Dee turned her back on Myron to

accept a second dish of cream from Philip.

That didn't disturb Myron any, for he cakewalked back to the kitchen for

more cream.

"Well, it was a fine exhibit for mere lads," Jack's father was heard to

say on his way home; "If we could bring into this little village a few

more men like our boys' Chief there would be no question about a boy's

coming up all right. It makes me ashamed to think that we parents have

left this work to an outsider."

"I feel," answered George's father, "that this man is a real 'insider'."

After all the guests had left The Chief's once again the boys formed

their line and saluted the man.

"Is there nothing for us this winter, O Chief?" asked Albert.

"Plenty. We are going to have a beautiful winter, and next spring better

work."

Laden with their trophies the boys reluctantly started for home. They

stood in the road in front of The Chief's gate, and the moon shone down

on seven happy, manly boys. The three cheers to The Chief arose clear

and shrill on the still evening air. As it died away the boys seemed to

melt into the shadows of the road.

The man stood motionless in his doorway until the last sound of the boys

died away. Then he went back into the room to dream over the fire dreams

for his boys.

One of the August pieces of work was to fix the hotbed for winter. Now