6o6 Home Nature- Study Course. 



thrifty plants with an occasional taste of the crop will be an attrac- 

 tion tliat will make the exercise a delight. Help the child to learn to 

 find pleasure in seeing plants grow. 



It must be remembered that plants growing in pots, vases or window 

 boxes are under unnatural conditions and require an unusual amount 

 of attention to keep them comfortable. Arouse yourself to the impor- 

 tance of water for plants under such abnormal conditions It is rare to 

 see plants in a pot on a window sill, even when under the care of a 

 capable gardener that do not at times sufifer from thirst. I once knew 

 a girl who worked in the kitchen and who had about the best window 

 box I ever saw. It sat on the tin roof of a veranda on the south side 

 of the house where all summer the sun's rays beat down like innumer- 

 able trip hammers. She was of the kind " for whom plants do well." 

 All of which means that she knew how to make plants comfortable. 

 Her success was due to two principal things : 



Friable soil. 



Plenty of water. 



During the hottest days she gave the plants water three times each 

 day. When she watered, she drenched the soil so there was surplus 

 that drained out through the holes in the bottom of the window box. 

 When the shorter days and colder nights of September came, she gave 

 water as infrequent as every other day. 



Let the children do the watering under your direction. Put the halo 

 of privilege about the responsible undertaking. You are to judge of 

 the time necessary to water. The surface of the soil will be dry, and 

 will crumble, but we expect that. When you water, drench the soil. 

 When school closes on Friday, water and place the flats holding the 

 farms out of the direct rays of light, otherwise you may find the plants 

 dying of thirst on Monday morning. 



Many school rooms are not heated during Saturday and Sunday and 

 often a cold snap happens during the last days of March. When such 

 an event is anticipated, shield the plants with a paper overcoat. The 

 character of school buildings varies greatly, ranging from the district 

 school with its box stove with wood as fuel, to forced draft in the city 

 schools. The rural teacher may be her own janitor and the town school 

 may have a most reliable and courteous one who will volunteer to look 

 after the welfare of plants when school is not in session. Between such 

 extremes I can give no hard and fast suggestions. Do not be dismayed 

 because of accidents. Do not begin with any definite or fixed ends to 

 accomplish. In that case you need have no sense of failure. In fact, 

 count no accident a failure, but rather congratulate yourself on having 

 had an opportunity for a lesson, 



