100 STATE HOKTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



"we did not meet with great success; still, when we closed our term of school 

 we had some very nice beds, which made our school ground look better than 

 ever before. 



W. D. F., Howard City : We had numerous obstacles to overcome that- 

 made us late in planting the seeds. The yard was not fenced, and the ground 

 a mass of weeds and briers. The district felt too poor to clear it up and en- 

 close it. My plan was to have a "bee" and split rails, plow the ground, and 

 fence the yard. The patrons objected to a rail fence, but the voice of the 

 children overcame the objections, and the fence was built. The ground had 

 never been plowed, and was full of sticks and roots. It cost the little people 

 and myself a good many hours of labor to get the beds in shape, but we suc- 

 ceeded. The seed was sown, and all came up. All of the scholars had beds 

 with seeds sown to spell their names in the center of each. But we found our 

 work only begun. The work of caring for the beds^fell largely on a few of the 

 older pupils and myself, although the little ones all tried to help what they 

 could. The scarlet runners were planted along our new-made rail fence. 

 The cypress vines, nasturtiums, and morning glories were trained by the 

 windows and on either side of the door, and the sunflowers planted in a row 

 back of the beds. There were so many flowers that our time was insufficient 

 to care for them well. Our school closed before many blossoms came out, 

 but afterward two of the older girls and I visited the beds every Saturday and 

 gave them what attention we could, and there were flowers in abundance. We 

 placed many lovely bouquets in the school room for Sabbath school, from 

 which I think we derived the mast pleasure. 



May L. Evarts, Big Kapids: We ha^ the ground plowed and partly pre- 

 pared April 28 (Arbor Day.) We planted beside our flower seeds many small 

 shrubs and flowering plants, maples, larches, and pines. About the middle of 

 May cattle broke in and destroyed all our hopes, but some of the sorts re- 

 cuperated, and candytuft, old maid in the bush, morning glories, mignonette, 

 Joseph's coat, castor beans, godetia, zinnias, batchelor's buttons, portulaca, 

 phlox, coxcomb, and eschscholtzia all did well. One castor bean ^vew 

 seven feet in height. A squash vine was planted by one of the boys which 

 bore fruit. 



Mary Chappell, Keese : Concerning the success of our venture in horticulture^ 

 I will say that I hope the other teachers of Michigan who received the bountiful 

 school collection of seeds were as richly rewarded as were teachers and pupils 

 of District No. 4, Gifford, Tuscola county. Our district is somewhat new,, 

 and although boasting of a fine school-house, with all the modern conveniences 

 inside, the grounds are not enclosed, and in the two seasons of my labor there 

 I tried in vain to induce the school board to have a suitable fence built. But 

 when I saw your liberal offer I resolved to avail myself of tlie opportunity and 

 do what I could, even with our inconveniences. My enthusiasm was soon com- 

 municated to the pupils, and when the "school collection" came we had 

 everything nearly ready. We went to the mill, about a mile away, and pro- 

 cured edgings enough to fence in a good-sized yard. The children brought 

 hammers and nails, and we went to work at the fence and completed it, too, 

 though I must confess it was certainly more useful than ornamental. But it 

 served our purpose, and no one noticed the rude fence wUen our flowers com- 

 menced to bloom. 



• The boys brought leaf mould from the woods and covered the beds deep with 

 it, and stones from a neighboring field to outline them, while the girls and I 

 shaped the beds and planted the seeds. There were two stumps within th& 



