September, 1909 



THE GARDEN MAGAZIxNE 



71 



water, and mix well. You need water 

 enough to make a thin paste. Before 

 making the cement you should have your 

 pond space already dug out, for the 

 cement has to be quickly put on before 

 it hardens. I would not make too big a 

 pond this year; try one say three feet long 

 by two and a half wide, by a foot deep. 

 Stake this off as you did your garden this 

 spring and then dig out the earth. You 

 should dig down about three feet because 

 there is a foundation to be laid. Place large 

 stones over the entire bottom of the pond, 

 fitting them in with smaller ones, building 

 up to within fifteen inches of the surface. 

 Now you are ready to cement. The bot- 

 tom of the pond should first be covered 

 with the cement, sand, and stones that you 

 have made into a paste. Put on two or 

 three inches thick. Do not mix much 

 cement at a time, as it stiffens so rapidly. 

 Put the mortar on with your trowel; just 

 throw it on and smooth off. 



One boy used a good way to cement the 

 sides; you know a mortar on the sides is 

 liable to drop back down into the bottom. 

 Place a board on the bottom of the pond and 

 hold it slanting so there is a space between 

 the board and the side you are to plaster 

 over. Now drop the mortar down into the 

 space and press up against the side. It 

 works well. A shingle is good for this. 

 When the sides are finished cement all 

 around the pond to about four inches from 

 the edge. This saves breaking away. Or 

 better yet, get or make a box the exact size 

 of the inside of the pond, i. e., 3 ft. x 2 ft. x 1 ft., 

 place this on the cemented bottom, then fill 

 in around this up to the surface with the 

 cement mixture, pressing this down with a 

 stick in layers as you go along. Do not let 

 much time -elapse between the placing of 

 one layer and the next. Leave the box in 

 two days, then break it out and your pond 

 is complete. If the sides are left rough 

 smooth off with cement and water mixed 

 to a thin paste — this can be painted on 

 with a whisk broom. 



After the pond has dried for a few 

 days fill with water to be sure it does 

 not leak. If the surface does not lower 

 much after standing for a number of 

 days, it is surely all right. 



Here, 'where trie country boys play, thoughtless 

 citizens drive across the sward spoiling the appear- 

 ance of the school yard 



For a hotbed put in a layer of manure to give 

 heat inside; for a coldframe the sun's rays give 

 all the heat necessary 



Now I would take out all the water some 

 time in September; then let the sun do its 

 good work of drying and make a board 

 which will fit over the entire opening of the 

 pond. This is to keep out all snow and ice 

 during the winter; for if you leave it all 

 open, by spring it will be badly cracked and 

 spoilt. 



There is no end of fun connected with 

 a water garden. 



Improvement of School Grounds 



WHY rural schools were dropped down 

 in unpromising spots, when good 

 pieces of land were available, no one can 

 say. But the fact remains that wherever 

 in a district was a little, rocky, three-cor- 

 nered, uninteresting piece of land, right 

 there a school house was built. 



We are offering prizes for the best work 

 done along lines of betterment in just such 

 spots. One missionary teacher of the 

 school shown in the picture herewith drove 

 eight miles to tell of the work she had been 

 doing. Her school grounds were even more 

 discouraging than they look in the left- 

 hand picture. The front yard — in fact 

 the entire yard — was full of stones, the 

 stone walls were tumbling down, in sum- 

 mer cows were pastured in the yard, and at 

 any time wagons drove through, using the 

 playground, which is seen in the left picture, 

 as a short cut to the road beyond. 



Not the least part of this task of improve- 

 ment was to reform the careless citizens. 

 But it was the right sort of teacher that 

 solved the problem. 



First the stones were picked, dug, and 

 pried up. Some of them helped to mend 

 the fence; the rest were carted off. This 

 digging up of stones left holes, holes which 

 took time, ashes, and much work to fill. 

 After this came the sodding over of these 

 bare spots and of the hard-trodden ground 

 before the school doors. 



A marshy spot gave promise of good 

 growth for swamp-loving trees, so here 

 were planted willows. And they lived. 

 By the side of the building were put white 

 birches and cedars. The cedars died; but 

 cedars are hard to transplant, so, after all, 

 this need not discourage our friends. Then 

 came the flowers: poppies, golden glow, and 

 rose bushes made a good start. In a shady 

 spot bloodroot was placed from the woods. 



Over the unsightly coal bin morning-glory 

 vines now have started to climb. 



See what these country boys and girls did; 

 they took account of stock and then made 

 the best use of their property. Stones with 

 which to mend a dilapidated wall; a wet spot 

 for swamp trees or plants; a shady spot for 

 wood-growing plants; an unsightly bin; the 

 trellis for a vine: all these seemingly poor 

 conditions presented opportunities to them. 



One lad settled, perhaps, the hardest 

 problem of all. The grazing cattle in one 

 day could do more harm than all these 

 fifty boys and girls could make up for in 

 weeks of labor. Here is his solution. All 

 summer long the boys are to take scythes 

 and go by turns to the grounds, keeping the 

 grass so short that no farmer will be 

 tempted to stake his cow there for feed. 



"Are not people interested enough," I 

 asked this teacher, "to keep from foddering 

 cows and driving their own teams on your 

 grounds?" "The parents," she replied, 

 "are much interested, but it takes time to 

 make the community proud of our work. 

 It will come, though." Of course, it will. 



This school is in our contest. These boys 

 and girls are to have a flower and vege- 

 table show this fall. Don't you wish all of 

 us could go up and celebrate with them? 



An Answer to the "Pumpkin 

 Challenge " 



TAKEN from a letter written by Pro- 

 fessor C. F. Hodge, of Clark Univer- 

 sity, to "The Children's Editor." 



"My Roland has some pumpkins grow- 

 ing in a rich spot, from one that weighed 

 seventy-six and a half pounds. He also has 

 a stable and a sink of liquid manure to 

 draw on so that Elliot Thomas would do 

 well to keep a sharp eye out. He may 

 beat Roland, but I have my doubts. I 

 would be willing to bet one dollar on him 

 anyway." 



When you go back to school this Septem- 

 ber do not be discouraged if your garden 

 looks the worse for the summer. Of course 

 it will. Even if your committees have 

 worked faithfully it is not the same as if 

 you had all been on the spot all the time. 



A type of country school teeming with possi- 

 bilities for improvements. Why are the schools 

 neglected? 



