shaw[ EFFICIENCY AIDS TO GARDEN WORK 91 



gardeners even before such gardeners had had enough practice. 

 This could be done. The second solution would be to train some 

 volunteer adults or teachers for just this work of starting the 

 garden. 



The teachers were all there too, that first morning, with baskets 

 filled with bottles of seeds they were to use. Each teacher had 

 assigned to her a helper from among the boys and girls to assist 

 in her group, because that morning junior helpers did not teach but 

 assisted the regular teachers — a sort of trying out of their ability. 



The gardens had been marked out prior to this by the practice 

 class, or if this were a school garden, by the upper grade boys and 

 girls. Upon each garden bed was placed the stakes and line, that 

 is, two stakes with a line just the length of the garden row to be 

 planted, or ten feet in length. The line is masons' cord which 

 will last years. This might be a part of an individual child's 

 equipment in a private school. Pot labels as markers for each garden 

 row — exactly the right number of them — were also placed upon the 

 garden bed. Besides this, a stick nine inches in length was found 

 to be used in opening up the drills and for a measuring stick. 

 Three inch and six inch spaces were marked off on this stick. 

 This graduated stick plus the markers which were six inches in 

 length, represented the measuring rods for the children's use. 

 The junior gardeners had placed these sticks upon the plots early 

 that morning. As the boys and girls and their teachers marched 

 down into the garden they saw a number of older boys standing in 

 the garden paths with baskets or boxes in their hands. These 

 baskets and boxes were filled with onion sets and the boys were to 

 go about giving to each teacher as she needed, the onion sets. It 

 is a very easy matter to have the older boys figure out exactly how 

 many will be needed. In our rows we placed them just six inches 

 apart. Had the onion sets been a little cheaper last year we would 

 have placed them four inches apart in the rows. Other boys 

 carried extra bottles of seeds through the garden so if a tecaher 

 ran out of seeds or labels because of any mistake she would have 

 no trouble in immediately having more presented to her. Every 

 teacher had in her basket a stiff piece of pasteboard upon which 

 was pasted a plan of the garden plot and also directions for planting 

 which had been given previously in the indoor lessons to the boys 

 and girls. I have found in my work that the adults need as many 

 aids as the children do. The mere fact that no teacher has had to 



