1074 Rural School Leaflet 



Staking the garden. — With pieces of wood stake out the garden corners 

 on the land to be used. These stakes will serve to show you where to 

 spread manure, or where to plow, spade, or harrow. 



Manuring. — If good, well-rotted stable manure is available, spread 

 a generous coating of it on the garden. It is doubtful whether too much 

 can be applied. Some of the best gardeners use as much as three or four 

 inches of well-rotted manure spread over the land. 



Plowing or spading. — If the ground is plowed it should be done after 

 the manure is spread, and should be to a depth of six or eight inches. 

 It is better, however, to use a spade or a spading fork. Such a tool will 

 turn the soil to a greater depth than will the plow, and if employed by a 

 boy who will use his head as well as his hands in his work the manure 

 can be placed at a very good depth. 



Smoothing. — Harrowing can follow the plowing, and fine smoothing 

 can be done after that. If horse power is not used the hand rake will be 

 the most serviceable tool. The rake can be used for breaking all lumps, 

 as well as for leaving the soil level and smooth. 



Permanent staking. — After raking, permanent stakes can be driven 

 at the corners of the garden in place of the temporary stakes first used. 

 A nail should be driven in the top of the southeast corner stake and exact 

 measurements from this stake to the other stakes should be made, placing 

 nails in the tops of the other stakes where they are found by measurement 

 to be needed. The use of these nails will help greatly in future exact 

 measurements for planting. 



Planting. — The time for planting as given in the planting-table must 

 be used with common sense and varied to suit the conditions of weather 

 and other local factors of the great outdoors. It is intended to serve 

 merely as a guide. The young gardener should ask advice of the most 

 successful grower of vegetables in his neighborhood. 



In planting seed the rows in the garden should correspond to the rows 

 as planned on the paper. Measurements from the nearest stakes at 

 both ends of the rows should be taken. A garden line or some other means 

 should be used for keeping the rows straight. 



The tabic given on page 1076 will serve as a guide in planting the seed, 

 but no one can be taught gardening from a printed page. Consult your 

 parents, your teacher, your district superintendent, and any successful 

 gardener. Good advice at first hand will be valuable. 



A furrow should be opened to the required depth with a hoe, which, 

 as above said, should be guided by a line, or mark. The seed should 

 be spread along the bottom of this furrow, then dirt should be filled in 

 over the seed and pressed down by walking on it. 



If there is a planting machine on the farm, such as a Planet Jr., Iron 

 Age, Columbia, or the like, it may be used for planting. 



