116 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [18:3— Mch, 1921 



the majestic Olympics ; to the east Lake Washington, and, beyond, 

 the Cascades, and to the southeast The Mountain — Mt. Rainier — 

 clothed in white — ^"a footstool for the Gods." But the season was 

 on for visiting the home gardens of children from the fourth to 

 eighth grades, so we literally " came down to earth," and in the five 

 weeks that were left of the season for us we each visited five 

 hundred gardens. 



Altho the long axis of the city is twelve miles, its distances seem 

 mainly vertical to one afoot, as the glacial action left this a hilly 

 region. Thruout the city the soils are largely sand and clay — 

 glacial material — except in the post-glacial river valleys where there 

 are rich alluvial deposits. With soils that were either sand or 

 stiff, pasty clay the new gardeners had a job on their hands, and 

 those who had been at it for several years still had some problems. 

 The work is organized on the U.S. Garden Army plan, and we were 

 glad to have the company of a garden lieutenant whenever our 

 rounds coincided with his, or occasionally he would go along as 

 guide. 



With the use of fertilizers, water, and industrious cultivating 

 almost any crop will flourish in even the poorer patches, and in the 

 rich soils the growth is truly wonderful. 



Some addresses lead to the outskirts of the city, where the land 

 is still only partly cleared, and it is on such hikes that ones sees a 

 great deal more than gardens. One day we found ourselves at the 

 edge of a steep wooded ravine. A passer-by told us that our street 

 was at the bottom of that ' ' gulch" and to follow the steps. But the 

 steps were only an encouragement to start and the rest a slide of 

 some two hundred feet. As a reward w^e found the home of some 

 mountain beaver, and there was still further reward awaiting us. 

 At the bottom of the "gulch" an old log road disputed right of way 

 with a half-hearted stream, as it led between a row of shacks. A 

 stranger was a curiosity, so there was no difficulty in locating 

 ''Jimmy's garden." His mother, however, had wrestled with the 

 half -cleared slope until it was ablaze with color — sweet peas, mari- 

 golds of all kinds, poppies — what a riot! Shasta daisies, forget-me- 

 nots, nasturtiums, dahlias — a kaleidoscope of color well displayed 

 by the somber setting of firs and cedar. 



Another day found us at the other end of the city pushing thru 

 underbrush of salal and Oregon grape to the top of a bluff which 

 shelves out several feet below, and there was our shack and garden, 



