BACK-YARD GARDENS 



the usual accumulation of old boxes, cans, and 

 other refuse which one sees in such places. In 

 this respect this particular back yard was like 

 most of its kind, but it had the advantage of a 

 little sunshine, and that was a great deal in its 

 favor when viewed from the stand-point of the 

 amateur gardener. 



"I think we can do something with it," I 

 said, after looking it over. "At any rate, we'll 

 try. Turn the boys over to me for a time, and 

 we'll see what can be done in the way of a 

 beginning." 



There were two small boys in the family, 

 and, like all boys, they were fond of experi- 

 menting in any new field, and when I explained 

 my garden-plan to them, they were enthusiastic 

 over it, as I had expected they would be. Boys, 

 as a general thing, like to dig, and hoe, and 

 spade in the soil. There is enough of the prim- 

 itive husbandman left in them for that. 



We set to work at once, before enthusiasm 

 had a chance to cool. The first thing we did 

 was to dig a hole in one corner of the yard in 

 which to bury all the rubbish that could not be 

 burned up. When looked at from the gar- 

 dener's stand-point, the soil was hard and un- 

 promising to a discouraging degree, but I 



