2 



very soon filled the air and made it unfit to breathe. For dirt and 

 ■disease are very closely related, you know. All this, because there was 

 no walk. But just outside the school-house yard was a great gravel 

 bank, and, if the boys had thought to bring a wheelbarrow and some 

 ;shovels to school, they could have made a good walk in a very short 

 time. If 3'ou have not walks, you can make them in nearly every 

 legion, with very little trouble. Tt will pay you to do so, for the school 

 room will be kept cleaner, the air will be purer, and you will find that 

 you can do more work and better work. 



But, about those odd corners: Did you ever notice how nature tries 

 to cover over the bare spots? Over logs and unsightly stumps she 

 trails delicate vines; in among the rocks she sets out fems, and in 

 every possible corner and crevice ?he plants flowers. Xow, I want 

 vou to take a hint from nature, and, indeed, get her to help you to 

 make the school yard beautiful. 



If you have any stones in the yard, pile them up in a loose heap. 

 Go out into the nearest woods and get some of the rich, black earth 

 that you will find about decaying logs, and with it fill the spaces be- 

 tween the rocks. When the ferns are just beginning to appear in the 

 spring, dig some up very carefullj', so that you may not injure the 

 roots and plant them in your rock pile. Be sure to leave some of the 

 "home" earth alDout the roots, and water the ferns frequently, because 

 you know they love moisture. Then, if you notice the places from 

 which you dig the ferns, you will also see that they love shade. Of 

 course, this means that your rock pile must not be put in a place 

 where it will catch the full light and heat of the sun. If you do this, 

 it will not be very long before your unsightly rock pile is a beautiful 

 fernery, and one of the odd corners is filled. Watch the ferns as they 

 grow and see how the delicate fronds unroll themselves. Probably 

 there are ten or twelve different kinds of ferns in your neighborhood. 

 Try to get them all to grow in your fernery. A little later in the sea- 

 son, after the fern leaves are fully opened, if you watch the under- 

 side of the leaf carefully, you will see little round bodies which at first 

 are green but afterwards become brown. Tliese are the spores of the 

 fern, and from these spores new fern plants will be developed. Now, 

 you will not find this very hard work: indeed, I think you will soon 

 come to enjoy your fernery very much. 



Are there any stumps or bare fences or sheds about the school yard? 

 I think that there must lie, unless your school yard is unlike most of 

 those I have seen. Suppose, about such places, yoiT plant morning 

 glories or the wild cucumber. Perhaps you do not know what the 



