NORMA: A FLOWER SCOUT
[Illustration: The hostess would dig up a small plant and place it
carefully in the basket.]
NORMA:
A FLOWER SCOUT
By LILLIAN ELIZABETH ROY
Author of
“Natalie: A Garden Scout,” “Janet: A Stock-Farm
Scout,” “The Blue Bird Series,” “The Five
Little Starrs Series.”
Endorsed by and Published with the Approval of
NATIONAL GIRL SCOUTS
A. L. BURT COMPANY
Publishers New York
Printed in U. S. A.
The Girl Scouts
Country Life Series
A SERIES OF STORIES FOR GIRLS
By LILLIAN ELIZABETH ROY
NATALIE: A GARDEN SCOUT
JANET: A STOCK-FARM SCOUT
NORMA: A FLOWER SCOUT
Copyright, 1925
By A. L. BURT COMPANY
NORMA: A FLOWER SCOUT
Made in “U. S. A.”
CONTENTS
I Norma’s Letter Home.
II Mrs. Tompkins Coaches Norma.
III An Automobile Is Donated.
IV Building Bird Houses.
V Mignonette and Chrysanthemum.
VI Flower Days and Legends.
VII The Rock and Water Garden.
VIII The Rain Interferes.
IX Various Undesired Tasks.
X The Water Garden Completed.
XI The Joy of Good Construction.
XII The Pigeon Cote.
NORMA: A FLOWER SCOUT
CHAPTER I
NORMA’S LETTER HOME.
“Dear Folks at Home:
“Here I am at Green Hill, just as much at home after a few hours’
time, as if I had been here for years. But, oh, Mother! Such an
arrival as we three girls experienced! I wish you could have seen us
when we finally reached the farm. How Daddy would have laughed! But
you, Muzzer, would have wept at the sight of my shoes, they were so
covered with mud. And you would have reminded me that you had just
paid fifteen dollars for them, downtown. But it was not my fault—that
mud. It was Amity Ketchum’s fault. I’ll tell you about it.
“When Belle Barlow, Frances Lowden and I jumped from the poky local
train that stopped at Four Corners on signal only, we looked all
around for some sort of a hack to take us and our luggage to Green
Hill. We remembered what Mrs. James had told us about the lazy driver
who took them to the farm when they arrived, but he was not to be seen
when we got there.
“Then we went to the ticket-office to ask the agent about some sort of
a conveyance, but the place was closed and not a soul anywhere about
the building. We looked at each other and laughed.
“‘There’s but one alternative, girls—walk!’ declared Belle, in her
usual calm superior manner.
“The drizzle that was sifting down when we left New York had become a
fine rain at Four Corners, making the roads muddy and full of small
pools. We had our suitcases and smaller traps to carry, as well as
hold up our umbrellas to keep our new straw hats from becoming
discouraged and droopy. Can you picture us?
“As Frances remarked after we had hiked for a hundred yards and
suddenly caught a squall of wind sweeping over the fields: ‘The
luggage acted as ballast and anchorage at the same time, to keep us
from flying up in the air with temper.’ Struggling along in spite of
handicaps, we finally reached the Post Office store.
“Now what do you think! There sat that lazy Amity Ketchum tilted back
in an old wooden chair, his feet crossed on top of a small cylinder
stove, discussing present-day politics. If the three of us had not
felt so aggrieved, we must have laughed outright at the sight of the
solitary hackman in the profession at Four Corners, absolutely
regardless of trade, or the difficulties his clients must experience
on such a day, with their misplaced confidence in Amity causing them
such free exercise as we were having.
“Why will doting parents misname their progeny as this man Amity was
named, Mother? He is so far from being amiable that his name should
suggest just the opposite of what ‘Amity’ means. We girls learned from
the store keeper that Amity Ketchum was the local Jehu, so Belle spoke
to him in rather an imperious tone.
“‘Why were you not at the station to meet this train, as we wired you
to do?’
“Amity carefully lifted one foot after the other, from the cold
stove-top to the floor, and slowly turned around in his chair to stare
at us. Then he actually ignored us and replaced his feet on the
fireless stove, and tilted back the chair and resumed his discussion
where he had abruptly interrupted himself to take a good look at
Belle. This made the other country men, who were lounging about the
place, grin at us as if we were big sillies. But Belle was furious. I
knew Amity was in for it when she said in her most cutting voice:
“‘I believe you are the driver of that sorry-looking freak standing
outside that goes by the name of Cherub. Was ever a beast as that, or
a man like you, so contrarily named? Why, just look at the poor excuse
called Cherub! His coat of fur has not been shorn for countless moons,
and the size of his hoofs must have caused the holes in the road which
are now filled with water like miniature lakes. Then give a thought to
those queer tufts of hair growing from above the hoofs—like the
Scotchman’s precious emblem that swings from his belt. And the
vehicle! ye gods, what a rare picture for the movie camera! Its wheels
running at different angles from each other in the most independent
way, and the dashboard that was broken through by the last passenger,
several weeks ago, still dangling to trip the Cherub’s heels. Well!
Four Corners must sit up, now, and take notice. A group of _live_
young people have come to stay, and sleepers like this driver and his
spirited steed, will be left behind unless he churks up a bit.’
“Amity Ketchum had never experienced any controversy with the natives
over his indolent habits, as they accepted him and his profession just
as he was. But Belle’s denunciation caused his lower jaw to drop and
render him speechless, while the farmers who had nothing to do on a
rainy day, laughed heartily at Belle’s words.
“We turned to go out, but Frances suddenly had a brilliant idea.
‘People like you seldom appreciate what you have until you lose it. If
some other young farmer about here would start a cab line for Four
Corners, we would send him all the patronage we will have daily at the
farm.’
“But no one rose to this tempting bait, so we poor bedraggled girls
had to plod onward to Green Hill, carrying our bags and umbrellas as
before, with injured pride weighting us down.
“Well, we finally reached the farm where Mrs. James and Natalie and
Janet were eagerly watching for us. They had heard the engine whistle
an hour before, and wondered what delayed us so. We described our
differences of opinion with the hackman, much to Mrs. James’s
amusement, and the girls’ hilarious laughter. But Rachel who stood in
the doorway, listening, was furious. She declared that if she only
owned an automobile she’d telegraph for her nephew, Sambo, to come
right out to Four Corners and earn a decent living by taxi-cabbing in
Four Corners. But her suggestion inspired Frances who is writing a
letter to her Father about some scheme she has in mind. ‘She won’t
tell us a thing about it until she hears,’ she said.
“Now that the unpleasant walk is over and we are comfortable again, we
can laugh at the incident. I can honestly say that I wouldn’t have
missed the fun for anything, as it will prove to be one of the
laughable experiences of our summer at Green Hill. There goes the
dinner call, folkses—I’ll have to finish this letter later.” * * *
“It is now supper time, dear folks, and I am sitting in my room to add
a few lines to this letter. This noon, directly after dinner—every one
in the country has dinner at noon and supper at night—so we fell into
the same customs at the farm. Right after dinner, Natalie informed us
three girls that we were all invited to visit Solomon’s Seal Girl
Scouts’ Camp. This is the group of girls I told you about, that Miss
Mason organized last year, and now has in camp at the woodland of the
farm.
“We had a most interesting visit with the girl scouts. They did so
many stunts for us that it would fill a book were I to try and write
it all for you now. The object of the meeting was to discuss the plan
of having Mrs. James form a second Patrol of Solomon’s Seal scouts.
Miss Mason’s scouts form Patrol Number One, and we girls will be
Patrol Number Two. Then we can apply at the National Headquarters in
New York City for a charter which officially registers us as a Troop.
“It was decided that we girls, being five, and the three girls Natalie
and Janet know, and asked to join the Patrol, will comprise the
membership of the new Patrol. But we will be Tenderfeet for a month,
before we can call ourselves regular scouts.
“This evening, after supper, we sat talking about the work Natalie and
Janet are doing on the farm. Natalie started a vegetable garden soon
after she arrived at the farm, and now you ought to see those beds!
Really, you would be amazed to see how the cuttings and seeds Natalie
planted are growing. She says she is going to sell the produce to the
scouts at camp, and to Rachel, for the house-table. If there is more
than enough to supply these needs, she is going to send it to New York
to friends to buy. In this way she expects to earn enough money during
the summer to pay for her own board and keep. Then Jimmy (Mrs. James,
you know) can save the cost of Nat’s board and deposit it in the bank
for her future.
“When Janet found Natalie was working for a living in such a
delightful way, she, too, got the idea of starting something to earn
her living this summer, and save the board money that her folks send
every week to Jimmy, for a future college education. Janet started a
stock farm. She bought three darling little pink pigs and some
chickens. She expects to sell the eggs the hens lay, and sell the
broilers the setting hens will soon hatch out for her. This will bring
in ready money every day, and in a short time she will be able to buy
a cow, a calf, a lot of ducks, geese and turkeys, and maybe some sheep
and everything else that belongs to stock work on a farm.
“You really won’t believe how much money Janet will have by the end of
this summer, all cleared out of the stock investment. But she proved
it to me by showing me the actual figures on paper. Eggs are so
expensive now, and broilers, too, always bring a fancy price in the
market. Then, when she sells the milk, butter and cheese from the cow,
the squabs from the pigeons, the ducks, geese and turkeys at
Thanksgiving time, she will be repaid for her labor during the summer.
The three pigs will fatten and grow without any care or cost to Janet,
as they just eat whatever is left from the house; but pork brings
awfully high prices when sold, so Janet will clear about a hundred and
fifty dollars on her three pigs, when she sells them to the butcher. I
wish I had been here first, and had had the opportunity to start a
stock farm such as Janet has.
“But I suppose I would have made a failure of it, as I love to dream
and idealize things. And Janet certainly can’t sit and idealize pigs
and cows and such creatures, because I watched her tonight—she almost
cried because she forgot to feed the pigs their supper, and they
squealed unmercifully for hours until she mixed the corn-meal mush and
carried it to them.
“It was suggested by Jimmy that I cultivate flowers in the beds
already laid out but, thus far, nothing is planted in them. There are
several hardy shrubs and flowers that come up every year which were
left here by the former tenant, but they need pruning and cleaning out
before they will look tidy and thrifty. Jimmy says she will help me
all she can in the flower-gardening, so I have decided to try it,
anyway.
“Natalie told me that Mrs. Tompkins, the wife of the man who owns the
post office store, offered to give them all the slips and cuttings we
needed to plant around the house at Green Hill. I am sending to a
large seed store in New York, for a catalogue of their seeds and
flowers, and will choose those which will grow quickly, as it is July
and several months have been lost before I got here.
“Nat said that Mrs. Tompkins has the most beautiful flower gardens
back of the house! I am going there to visit her and see her flowers.
Jimmy thinks this work is just suited to my temperament, as I always
loved flowers, and feel quite enthusiastic over the prospect of
growing them and taking care of them. I couldn’t see where any profit
could come to me out of the work of planting and watching over the
flowers, but Jimmy says there are as many ways for me to dispose of my
flowers for money, as it is possible for Natalie to sell vegetables,
or Janet to sell stock.
“Before you see your dreamy Norma again, she will be a professional
floriculturist. As a beginning in the business, Mrs. James authorized
me to take charge of the landscaping of the grounds about the house. I
am also going to have charge of the lawns. To keep the grass cut short
and the edges trimmed neatly, and the people from walking across the
grass and wearing footpaths over the lawn. I am to be paid for all
garden or lawn work, the same as Farmer Ames charges the household for
his time. Jimmy also told me that I shall be paid for any work I am
asked to do about the place, whether it is helping Natalie weed or
plant her vegetable gardens, or doing odd jobs.
“But the flower beds will be all my own to do with as I like, so there
will be no pay for planting or raising flowers. It is such fascinating
work—this flower seeding and planting, that I count every moment as
wasted when I am not doing something to improve the garden or lawns.
“Mrs. James is the heart of everything at Green Hill Farm, from Rachel
as house-worker, down to the dog, Grip, who belongs to Sam, the handy
man; everything turns to her for advice and help. What would we all do
without her?” * * *
“10 P. M.—I was interrupted in my letter just as I finished the last
paragraph. The girls called me to hurry downstairs and walk with them
to Four Corners. I went, but Mrs. James and I stopped to visit Mrs.
Tompkins’s gardens while the other girls went on, with Hester
Tompkins, to see Nancy Sherman and Dorothy Ames about forming a scout
patrol. I can’t go to sleep without telling you about Mrs. Tompkins’s
flowers, so I am sitting up to write, but all the others are fast
asleep.
“I never thought the plain old earth could produce such lovely colors
and the delicate perfumes Mrs. Tompkins’s flowers have. She has a
large area devoted to her flowers, and there I saw almost every kind
of plant, blossom, shrub, vine or tree that grows north. She says it
is because she loves them so much that they bloom and thrive so
splendidly for her.
“I believe that I could love flowers that way, too, and maybe they
will bloom and thrive successfully for me, too. I told Mrs. Tompkins
that I knew of no pleasanter way to live than to see such lovely
rewards as the flowers, for one’s time and patience.
“She looked at me very searchingly, for a minute, and then said:
‘Norma, I think you will be a successful florist if you keep at the
work. But you cannot slight such a calling once you undertake to grow
the plants.’
“I wish you could see the great basketful of slips, roots and cuttings
that I brought home from Mrs. Tompkins’s gardens tonight. I am going
to get up at sunrise in the morning and plant them. Jimmy and I were
visiting Mrs. Tompkins for almost two hours, yet it seemed like ten
minutes.
“Now that this letter is finished, it can be mailed in the morning and
I am free to start my garden work. Don’t be alarmed if you do not hear
from me again for a long time as I will not have much time to spare
once I begin gardening and landscaping the farm. When it begins to
look like a real picture garden I want you both to come out and see
what I can do. But do write often,
To your loving
Norma.
P. S.—If you possibly can send me my two months’ allowance in advance,
I would be very grateful, as I want to buy seeds and bulbs, and lots
of things for my work. Please send it _at once_.
Norma.