218 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Ten Minutes in a Boy's Garden. 



BY MISS ELIZABETH S. HILL, DIRECTOR OF CHILDREN'S GARDENS AT BROOK- 

 LINE AND GROTON, MASS. 



Property : 



Garden Tools, Garden Line, 



Overalls, Jumper, Hat, 



Model Garden. 



Dramatis Personse: 



E. S. Hill, Garden Director, 



Daniel Needham, Garden Worker. 



Scene: 

 A Boy's Garden, 15 feet X 5 feet. 



(Enter Garden Director.) 



Garden Director: "I wonder where Daniel is; he is always so punc- 

 tual." 

 {Enter Daniel.) 



Garden Director: "Good morning, Daniel." 



Daniel {takingoff hat): "Good morning. Miss Hill." 

 {Looking garden over.) 



Garden Director: "How does your garden grow?" 



Daniel: "It grows all right. See how nice the rain made it look!" 



Garden Director: "Yes, 'twas just what it needed. Artificial water- 

 ing never does so much good as the rain. Did you see anything on your 

 way?" 



Daniel: "Oh, yes! I saw a little pink moth on an evening primrose. 

 I could hardly tell it from the flower. " 



Garden Director: "That is what is called 'protective coloration'. 

 The evening primrose is a night blooming flower; the pink moth comes 

 at that time to sip its nectar. In the morning, the flower closes, fading 

 to a pink color, enclosing the little pink moth. It takes pretty sharp eyes 

 to tell whether it is a moth or a petal. " 



Daniel: "I saw a handsome bird, all yellow but wings, tail and cap 

 black. It went dipping through the air, singing, 'che che che che, che 

 che che che'. " 



Garden Director: "That was the goldfinch. He is a handsome bird, 

 a great friend of the gardener. He is a weed seed eater, and one third 

 of his food is injurious insects. They stay in flocks all winter, turn an 

 olive brown color, and don their yellow dress when the dandelions begin 

 to bloom. " 

 {Both looking garden over, Daniel hoeing a little.) 



