SITUATION AND SOIL 47 



on a clothes pole, their blossoms flashing here and there 

 through the green. 



The foot passenger hurrying along the thoroughfare, or 

 threading his way through the dim alley, would never by the 

 wildest chance guess what is going on up above the noisy 

 world. And yet this striking picture, if only he could see it, 

 would go far to convince him of two things: that nature, if 

 she is coaxed ever so gently, will come more than halfway to 

 meet a plant lover, and that hard-pressed human beings are 

 eager to make sacrifices for the sake of some green things 

 a-growing, and so turn the most impossible spots into gardens. 



Of all the significant details before him not one escaped 

 the swift eye of Uncle John, w r ho interpreted them to his 

 ready listeners. The actual result of the climb to the steeple's 

 height turned out in the end to be not so much a tribute to 

 the historic past as the awakening in these pilgrims of a 

 desire to understand present issues and to speed the civiliz- 

 ing forces of the future. 



The best possible outcome of such an expedition would 

 take some practical form. It might be the prompt canvass 

 of one's own neighborhood to learn what could be done to 

 encourage school and home gardens. And then the question 

 would arise as to available land and how to pick out the most 

 suitable spots. In the ideal situation there is no doubt that 

 one of the " must haves " is a flood of morning and midday 

 sunshine. The afternoon sun does not count for so much ; 

 it is in fact a " may have." If the land can further oblige 

 by sloping gently toward the south and east, it will be to its 

 advantage. This slight incline, too, is a point in favor of 

 good drainage, only it should not actually lie on a hillside, 

 or the richness of the soil will be washed away. 



Next, the chosen spot begs protection from north winds. 

 Sufficient shelter is often afforded by a building, a high fence, 



