276 



1' H E GARDEN MAGAZINE 



January, 1911 



separate pieces of paper. How long does 

 it take these different soils to dry out? 

 What does this teach you about the power 

 which different soils have to retain water? 



Experiment 3 — Fix and fill the chim- 

 neys as before. Take a measure of 

 water, a glass, a bottle or a measuring 

 glass full. Pour water very slowly into 

 the chimney holding the sand. Hold 

 the chimney in your hand over a glass 

 so that all the water which passes through 

 the soil may be caught. Suppose sand 

 held J^ of a measure of water and allowed 

 •^ to drip through. What per cent, of 

 water did the sand hold or retain? 



Try the same with the clay and the 

 humus using in both cases the same 

 amount of water as you did for the sand. 

 Calculate out per cent, in both cases. 

 What does this experiment teach you 

 about soils? 



Experiment 4 — Add to a cup of sand 

 an equal quantity of rotted manure or 

 of leaf mold. Try experiments i, 2 and 3 

 over with this new soil mixture and see 

 if this has made any difference to the 

 qualities of sandy soil. 



Experiment 5 — Take a measure of 

 clay soil, add to this half a measure of 

 sand and half a measure of rotted manure 

 or of leaf mold. Work these thoroughly 

 into the clay. What effect do they have 

 on the character of the soil? To answer 

 this question try again with the new soil 

 experiments i, 2 and 3. 



After you have completed these ex- 

 periments send in to us your results. We 

 will try to print some so that you may see 

 the results gotten by different boys and 

 girls. Make out a page on what they 

 teach you about soils. It would be well 

 to arrange the third experiment in tabular 

 form as follows: 



Kind of 

 Soil 



Amt. of 

 Water 



Water 



held by 



Soil 



Water 



Passed 



Thro' Soil 



Per Cent. 



Water 

 Retained 



Sand 

 Clay 

 Humus 



1 Cup 









Tlie notable feature of this Lancaster garden is 

 that of entirety 



The last three columns are for you to 

 fill out. Any amount of water may be 

 used. A measuring cup is good because 

 it is divided off into defiiiite spaces. Some- 

 times boys and girls use rulers to measure 

 the water with. About two inches of 

 water is poured from a vessel of some sort 

 into the soil, the drip water being caught 

 in a similar vessel and measured. Be sure 

 the vessels used are the same size and 

 shape or else your estimate will be incor- 

 rect. 



Things to Be Attended to 



AGAIN here is a reminder of things to do: 

 (i) Try the experiments given in the previous 

 article. They are good ones for a fourth or fifth 

 grade. 



(2) If the house plants begin to look a bit scrag- 

 gly try watering them once a week with liquid 

 manure. You remember it should be the color 

 of weak tea. 



(3) If the plants develop lice spray them with 

 kerosene emulsion. The receipt for this is as follows : 

 Dissolve a quarter pound of soap in a quart of hot 



water. Shave the soap up and stir the hot water 

 into it while on the stove. To this hot mixture 

 add one gallon of kerosene. Of course remove 

 the soap solution from the stove before doing this. 

 Beat it well. Dilute with ten times the amount 

 of water. If it is then too thick to use as a spray 

 dilute with water. If you. have no syringe to spray 

 with, wash the lice from the plants with a cloth 

 moistened with the emulsion. 



(4) Another means of destroying lice is to use 

 tobacco water. To a pailful of warm water add a 

 handful of tobacco. Let it stand for about twenty- 

 four hours. If the color is like that of weak tea 

 you will then know that it is the right strength 

 for spraying the plants. If it is not, dilute to this 

 color by adding cold water. 



(5) If the bulbs have developed a proper root 

 system bring up to the light. The way to deter- 

 mine this was told in the October number. When 

 the bulb has done its work of blossoming remove 

 the plant to the cellar. Let it completely wither 

 and die down. Then cut oli the entire top to 

 within one inch of the bulb itself. Take the bulbs 

 out of the pans and boxes and thoroughly dry. 

 They are now ready to be packed away for next 

 summer's use. 



(6) Keep the leaves of the home plants free from 

 dust. Spray the window boxes with water occa- 

 sionally. 



(7) To water potted plants plunge them in a basin 

 of water. Let them remain until the top surface 

 of soil is completely moistened. 



(8) Why not start planting flower seeds in pots 

 and boxes ready for a March flower show? Give one 

 kind of seed to a grade. Try this in your boys' club. 



(9) Stick some seed of scarlet runner bean or 

 cucumber vine in the window box and start a vine 

 which can be trained up the window casement. 



(10) Right after Christmas begin to make for 

 yourself a set of garden necessities. I mean by 

 this labels, markers, stakes, reels, etc. 



(11) It is not too early to make your garden plan 

 for next spring's garden. Draw this to a scale. 

 Put the rows of vegetables and flowers in the plan. 

 Use dotted lines for this. You can even get the 

 labels marked. 



(12) Write for a catalogue to the seed house from 

 which you intend to buy your seed. If the cata- 

 logue is not ready your name will be on file to 

 have one mailed you as soon as the catalogues 

 come from the press. 



(13) A good many schools send to the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture at Washington for seeds, 

 which are specially put up for schools. Just 

 state the number of children who are to partici- 

 pate in the garden. 



(14) Next month a few experiments with seeds 

 will be printed. This is work preparatory to 

 your outdoor work. It is for a better understand- 

 ing of this garden work of ours. The soil experi- 

 ments are given so that you will understand how to 

 treat the special soil you have to deal with. 



It is for this better understanding of things 

 that you are to get seeds as soon as possible. 



.Such gardens as these in Rhode Island show not only the civic but the economic side of children's gardens. Note especially in the right hand picture how well 



the garden is laid out 



