AMONG SCHOOL GARDENS 



remaining beds should be planned both as to 

 location and size, with reference to observation 

 work* and decorative effect. Space must be 

 allowed for a compost heap to be screened by 

 high grasses, grains, or flowers; also for cold 

 frames, if any; for the "weed garden"; and if 

 wise, for both a "model plot," where the planting 

 lesson is illustrated and the "supply plot" from 

 which seedlings may be taken to make good in 

 the children's rows deficiencies for which they are 

 not to blame. Finally, all the measurements 

 should be checked oif by the steel tape to ensure 

 absolute correctness. The work may be expedited 

 by an eight-foot strip of wood which can be slipped 

 along the ground beneath the extended lines, 

 while stakes are driven in at the required dis- 

 tances.! (Such a board 8 to lo feet long, another 

 4 to 8 feet, and another just 2 feet long, marked in 

 feet and half feet, will be found very convenient 

 for garden measurements in planting, transplant- 

 ing, straightening, bounding edges, paths, and for 

 many other purposes.) The advantage of plots 

 laid out from the center of a garden is that any 

 irregular strips of land will be left at the sides and 

 ends where they may be used as sample plots, 

 or to give a finish, as of a rich frame of flowers 



* See Appendix A, Note 9. " 



f Particularly in kindergarten work when the board may be made 

 to mark a furrow with its main edge. It may be laid for the children 

 to stand on while planting; and to firm the seeds by using it to tramp 

 them down after they are covered. 



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