170 



CHILDREN'S GARDENS 



time. Note the results, and see whether the growth 

 on the surface, the mulch, and the material mixed 

 with the soil has caught and held the water sufficiently 

 to prevent washing. Then note the condition of the 



Photo by the Author 



The pile of earth was about a wheelbarrow ful, the finest sur- 

 face soil. It was washed down in a couple of hours' heavy 

 rain, from the eight-foot square plot. The adjoining plot of 

 the same size, but covered with a miniature forest of buck- 

 wheat and sunflowers, showed no soil washing 



bare land, the furrows made by the water running 

 down hill, the material that has been carried from the 

 surface to the trap at the bottom. 



You will find that what has been carried the farthest, 

 is the fine soil, the most valuable to the farmer, and 



