Supplement to 



Mome IFlature s= Stub^ Course 



Published by the College of Agriculture of Cornell University, 

 in October, December, February and April and Entered October 

 1, 1904, at Ithaca, New York, as Second-class Matter, under 

 Act of Congress of July 16, 1894. 



ANNA BOTSFORD COMSTOCK Editor 

 New Series. Vol. 4. ITHACA. X. Y., APRTL-^IAY, 1908 No. 4 



SCHOOL GROUND GARDENS. 



By Joiix W. Spexcer. 



As spring approaches our thoughts turn to gardening and the seed- 

 men's catalogs. There is no reason why the child of the humblest home 

 cannot have something as beautiful as is possible for the most wealthy 

 to own. The thought that plants are not haught}- is an inspiration that 

 never becomes threadbare with me. All that they ask is that they may 

 be made comfortable and they will do their part to develop into the best 

 of their kind. In some previous leaflets I have tried to show some under- 

 lying principles constituting plant comfort. In this lesson I hope to 

 give some concrete instructions to be applied in securing that end. 



One of the drawbacks in helping people to succeed with plants is that 

 they w^ish to be told by recipes. They seem to think that instruction 

 in cultivation of plants may be given by tablets, to be taken morning, 

 noon and night — that the science of agriculture consists in prescribing 

 panaceas for all troubles in plant life. 



For instance w^e have no inquiry more frequently made than that of 

 " How often shall I water my plants? " I cannot say in reply, Mondays, 

 Wednesdays and Fridays. Plants require watering whenever the earth 

 is dry. A window box or a vase may recjuire water two or three times 

 each day in July or August when the days are the longest and once every 

 other day in September when the days are shorter and the rays of the 

 sun strike the earth more obliquely and evaporation is less rapid. 



Mv suggestions to the one who insists on getting instruction for rais- 

 ing plants as they would mix the materials for a cake — a spoonful of this 

 and a cupful of that and a pinch of something else — is that they had 

 better learn the 7>.7/v "f cultivation as well as the Jiou'. Success is not a 

 matter of luck, but rather of doing the right thing in the right way, and 

 at the right time. 



There are three degrees or grades of instruction that I would give 



children in gardening, viz: 



635 



