are not started, (2) to see that young 

 trees are not cut for lumber, (3) to 

 pi event over-grazing of stock, etc. 



* * * 

 CULTIVATION 



Many of the gardens cannot be ir- 

 rigated, so recourse to "dry farming" 

 must be had. Dry farming means to 

 keep the top soil open in order to 

 catch the rain and then to conserve 

 the water by means of a mulch. If 

 you have forgotten the work of the 

 mulch turn to other pages of the 

 "Junior. " In making the mulch use 

 the corner of a hoe to break up the 

 soil several inches deep. Be careful 

 not to disturb the plants. Those 

 whose rows are far enough apart to 

 receive the blade of a hoe will find 

 the cultivation an easy matter. 



Cultivate often to hold the mulch 

 and to keep out the weeds. A plot 

 of weeds the size of an ordinary lot 

 throws a great deal of moisture into 

 the air in 24 hours. 



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4- CHILDREN'S ARTICLES 4- 



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OUR GERANIUMS 



The low seventh grade in the San 

 Leandro grammar school has a room 

 in the basement of that school, and 

 it is there that we do all our agri- 

 cultural experiments. 



In this room there are several ta- 

 bles on which we have long boxes, 

 filled with earth and planted with 

 seeds. In two of the boxes we have 

 planted geranium slips. 



First we sifted the dirt and then 

 put sand on top of that, and then 

 smoothed it over Afterwards we 

 soaked it with water and put in the 

 geraniums. 



One box of these cuttings grew, 

 and had flowers, but we picked them 

 off. The slips in the other box did 

 not grow so well because we did not 

 water them enough. As soon as the 

 weather settles we are going to plant 

 them around the school house. 

 MILDRED MACEY, 



106 Crark street. San Leandro. 



* * * 



HOW I DISTILLED WATER 



Mr. Stebbins, our teacher in agri- 

 culture wanted some distilled water 

 to try the experiment if seeds would 

 grow as well in it as in drinking 

 water. 



I was one of those selected to 

 distill the water for the experiment. 



As I wanted a quantity, I took the 

 teakettle and filled it nearly to the 

 top and waited for it to boil. While 

 waiting I washed the dishes I was 

 going to use in warm water, to be 

 sure they were clean. When the 

 water was boiling I placed one of the 

 bowls I had washed under the spout 

 and held another one over it. As it 

 was cold the steam condensed and 

 ccllected in drops on the inside of 

 Lie upper bowl. Soon it began to 

 drip in the lower bowl. This was 

 distilled water. 



When the upper bowl became hot 

 it did not drop so fast, so I chang- 

 ed for cold ones. 



It took me a long, long time to get 

 a pint. JESSIE H. JONES, 



East 14th street, San Leandro. 



This is an original plan but an 

 easier one might be devised. 

 * * * 



TESTING SEEDS 



We tried an experiment by put 

 ting damp cotton into two bottles. 



In one bottle we planted seeds and 

 put a cover on the bottle to keep out 

 the air. In the other bottle we plant- 

 ed the seeds but did not put a cover 

 on. We tried this to see which way 

 the seeds would grow best, with air 

 or with out the air. 



By trying this experiment we found 

 out that the seeds grew better in 

 the bottle with the air than in the 

 bottle without. 



ALOUISE RAVEKES, 

 San Leandro. Low Seventh Grade. 



This experiment teaches us that aii 

 must circulate in the soil. This may 

 be brought about by thorough culti- 

 vation. 



Mr. Morse, the seed man of San 

 Francisco, is going to help you ma- 

 terially by furnishing many seeds 

 free to those who plant school gar- 

 dens. Write to us, since the seeds 

 are in our care. 



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•£• Please enroll my name to 4° 



•!• receive the Junior Agricul- 4* 



«!• turalist FREE. 4* 



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 •J* Name 4* 



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