the handle forward and backward, 

 then throw the dirt a few inches in 



front. Be sure to break up the clods 

 thoroughly as each spadeful is turned 

 over. Plants do not grow well in 

 cloddy soil. Exercise 2, Chapter VI. 

 taught you this. Continue spading 

 across the garden, leaving a trench in 

 front. Guided by the trench spade an- 

 other row. Keep the trench open as 

 each row is spaded. (Fig. 4.) 



With the whole plot spaded or at 

 least the part spaded which you wish 

 to saw at once, rake back and forth to 

 ?>reak up any lumps still left. It is a 

 good plan to push the rake from you, 

 otherwise the soil will be drawn from 

 the center to the edges. When finished 

 the bed should be soft, a little higher 

 in the center than at the edges. It 

 should be raised about two inches. The 

 ^dges should be in line with the stakes, 

 string stretched around the plot will 

 guide you in making straight edges. 



The School Garden — A diagram of 

 school gardens will appear in the next 

 issue. If you have a school garden 

 your teacher will help you in planning 

 Mid laying out the garden as a whole. 

 An individual garden will be given you, 

 you may work in a group with others, 

 you may have an experimental garden 

 or you may do all three. However, 

 what you have learned will help in 

 the school garden. Unless your teach- 

 er has given you a plan to follow, 

 work out some original way. Follow 

 his instruction closely so as to grow 

 the best vegetables and flowers. Any 

 one can grow a radish, but any one 

 can not grow the best radish. 



You and your neighbors should plan 

 to arrange your vegetables and flowers 

 so as to make the garden as a whole 

 attractive. A row of corn next to a 

 row of beets would not look well. Two 

 rows not parallel would not only spoil 

 the appearance of one garden but 

 would make the whole plot less at- 

 tractive. You and your neighbors must 

 think of the good 01 all. 



Tools — You may ha\e to furnish 

 your own tools. The school may fur- 

 nish them. In either case, take care 

 of them. Put them in a tool house 

 or a box carefully and well cleaned. 

 When not being used in the gardens 

 lay hoes and rakes with the prongs 

 down. Fo-ne one may fall or step on 

 them. Probably there will not be 

 enough to give each pupil a set. Re- 

 member your neighbor and be satisfied 

 with one tool. 



A tool broken by a gardener should 

 be fixed or replaced by him. 



With the seed bed carefully spaded, 

 raked and formed you are ready to 

 plant seeds. Do not be in a hurry to 

 plant, however. The most important 

 step in growing the best radish is a 

 perfect seed bed. After the seeds are 

 in little can be done to improve the bed. 



If clods persist rake then into a pile. 

 Dig a hole in one corner of the garden 

 and bury them. 

 QUESTIONS 



1. What should determine the choice 

 of the garden plat? 



2. -How far apart should the rows be? 



3. Why not plant corn and beets close 

 together? 



4. Give some rules for the growing 

 of flowers. 



5. Explain the proper way to spade 

 and to rake. 



6. Describe an ideal seed bed. 



7. What steps does a farmer take in 

 preparing a good seed bed? 



8. What should each pupil bear in 

 mind to make the whole plat atractive? 



9. What is the most important step 

 in growing the best vegetable or 

 flower? 



HOWE STUDIES 



1. Why does a farmer select well 

 drained land when buying? 



2 Why will ordinary crops not grow 

 on wet lowlands? 



3. How might swampy land be re- 

 claimed? 



4. How far apart does the farmer 

 plant corn and wheat? How are the 

 seeds sown? 



5. How might your own and the 

 homes of others living near be made 

 more beautiful? Make a rough plan of 

 a flower scheme for your home. 



6. What will be the cost of such a 

 garden as shown in figure 2? Find out 

 what vegetables and flowers are worth 

 and estimate the profit to be gained. 



7. What methods are used to irrigate 

 orchards, gardens and fields in your 

 vicinity? 



8. Study figure 5 carefully, for this 10 

 acre farm will be referred to often. 

 What would it cost to fence this farm? 

 How many years will a good fence last? 

 What kind of posts is it best to use? 



