102 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



March, 1913 



If an ornamental flower garden is to be laid out 

 tin the school grounds plant it in miniature indoors. 

 The children get quite a different idea from that 

 'which they receive from the regular garden plan. 

 • (6) It is a time to form a department of agriculture 

 from one class in the school. Let it be the business 

 of this class to estimate on the seeds needed for 

 the entire school, to write to the Department of 

 Agriculture and to send in the seedsman's order 

 "too. The seeds should be distributed through 

 this department to the entire school. Some grade 

 might make the envelopes for the seeds. Make it 

 a cooperative piece of work for the school. 



(7) Keep the manual training department busy 

 making stakes, markers, flats in which to start 

 seeds, reels and press boards for seed planting. 



(8) The questions concerning the amount of fer- 

 tilizer necessary for a given piece of land is often 

 asked. It is a matter of very simple arithmetic. 

 Measure the length and width of the garden plot 

 in yards. Multiply to obtain yards in area. Let 

 us estimate that the amount of fertilizer you would 

 use for an acre would be 1,000 pounds. Multiply 

 the area by 1,000 point off four places from right 

 to left and multiply by two, this will give you the 

 number of pounds you have to buy. One may 

 prefer to estimate on 1,500 or 2,000 pounds per 

 acre. This estimate is for chemical fertilizers and 

 not for barnyard dressing. 



We always say to put on the garden plot all the 

 old rotted manure available. But often little of 

 this is to be obtained for the school garden. If the 

 plot is a small one and the manure is to be spaded 

 in by hand, spread about two inches of manure 

 over the garden area. If the plot is to be plowed 

 and plenty of manure is at hand spread a good six 

 inches of the fertilizer over the garden. To help 

 out an insufficient amount of manure and poor 

 garden soil plant winter rye all over the garden 

 next fall. The rye will spring up before frost. 

 Then the following spring spade this rye into the 

 soil. It will act as a fertilizer. 



In considering fertilizers remember that nitroge- 

 nous fertilizers tend to make luxuriant leaf growth 

 while potash and phosphoric acid produce flower 

 and fruit. Manure is the great source of nitrogen; 

 nitrate of soda is also a nitrogen giver. Potash is 

 obtained from wood ashes and sulphate of potash; 

 phosphoric acid may be gotten from bone meal. 

 If soil is very heavy and clayey mix coal ashes, sand 

 or lime to lighten it. Lime is a soil sweetener too. 



(9) A spray, such as you use for your morning 

 bath, is good to use in spraying house plants. 

 Hold the plant top down over a sink or bath tub, 

 spray water over the under surface of the leaves. 

 You can do this without even wetting the soil in 



the pot if the pot is held right. If the plants 

 are kept thus sprayed and clean there is less 

 danger of pests developing. Weak tobacco water 

 sprayed on will kill lice on plants. 



Whenever any of you boys and girls have an 

 interesting experience to relate about your plant 

 work or a good garden picture you have taken, 

 why not send this material in? We shall be glad 

 to pay you for these just as we would fathers or 

 mothers if they send articles into the magazine, 

 if the things you send in are worth using in the 

 magazine. Here is another avenue of money earn- 

 ing and a good opportunity to improve your lan- 

 guage work. Why not try? 



This is the month in which to enjoy the bulbs. 

 Bring them in from the dark and cold. Bring the 

 pots gradually into the full light of the sun. Shield 

 the budding plants from drafts. These blast the 

 flowers. If the hyacinth bulbs start to blossom 

 close down in the stalk put a paper cone or inverted 

 flower pot over the bloom thus forcing it up toward 

 the light entering from the open upper end of the 

 cone. Watch the tulips for they sometimes develop 

 lice. If this occurs make a strong soap suds, put a 

 few drops of kerosene into the solution and wipe off 

 the infested sprays with a cloth dampened in the 

 kerosene emulsion. This is an equally good treat- 

 ment for any home plants thus infested. 



The School Garden Movement 

 in Rhode Island 



THE work of this state is under the immediate 

 supervision of Prof. Ernest K. Thomas, who 

 is a member of the faculties of the Agricultural 

 College and of the State Normal School. 



In some respects, of course, Rhode Island is so 

 much a manufacturing state that it is not con- 

 sidered the most appropriate place to interest the 

 schools in agricultural work; but, notwithstanding 

 this handicap, school gardens have been developed 

 in all the leading institutions of the state. The 

 work was first introduced about twelve years ago 

 by Miss. Ella Sweeney, Assistant Superintendent 

 of the Providence schools. The Civic League of 

 Newport began some work in school gardening in 

 1906 and the Westerly Schools started about the 

 same time. Even before this (in 1904), a small 

 garden was started at Kingston under the direction 

 of the extension department of the College. The 

 Pawtucket Old Home and Improvement Society 

 attached a school garden to their school in 1908. 



Without doubt the school garden which will 

 have the most effect in influencing the teachers 

 of Rhode Island is the one in connection with the 



Entrance to Rosedale Garden. Cleveland. Ohio, A single gateway to the children's garden, 

 this with the usual gateway of barbed wire 



Contrast 



Rhode Island Normal School under the management 

 of Principal John L. Alger. 



As I have already mentioned, the city of Newport 

 has had some most excellent school gardens for a 

 number of years. The City of Pawtucket has a 

 very commendable garden, which is interesting 

 many people in that city in this movement and in 

 improved home conditions generally. Warwick, 

 Saylesville, Lonsdale, and a number of other smaller 

 cities of the state have made commendable progress. 



One of the most valuable results of the whole 

 movement has been that of the home garden, which 

 has been established in many places as an out- 

 growth of the interest aroused by the school 

 garden. 



E. E. Balcomb. 

 Formerly of the Providence Normal School. 



Prize Winners in the Children's 

 Garden Contest 



OUR 19 1 2 children's garden contest was con- 

 ducted on the same lines as the contests of the 

 three preceding years. The prizes presented were 

 books and magazine subscriptions. 



If you will notice, the prize winners come from 

 all over the country. We are specially interested 

 in the work of the Canadian boys and girls and 

 those on the Pacific coast because this is the first 

 time that these two sections of our country have 

 entered into the contest to any extent. We hope 

 to hear much more about their work. 



There are always three classes in our contests. 

 Class I is for children; that is, the prizes are for 

 children's individual efforts. Class II and Class 

 III are for collective efforts of children working to- 

 gether in school or community gardens, or where the 

 work and results are considered together as a unit. 



In Class I three prizes are offered. Each first 

 prize consists of three books from The Garden 

 Library; the second prizes, two books from The 

 Garden Library; the third prize in each case is a 

 year's subscription to The Garden Magazine. 

 In each division of Classes II and III one prize 

 only is given. The prize in Class II is The Nature 

 Library, fifteen volumes on nature subjects. 

 Twelve volumes, comprising The Garden Library, 

 is the prize in Class III. 



The list of prize winners is as follows : 



CLASS I 



A. The best flowers raised in a home garden: 



1. Mabel Jane Musser, Cleveland, Ohio. 



2. Edward Chapman, Toronto, Can. 



3. Alice Davis, Groton, Mass. 



B. The best vegetables raised in a home garden: 



1. Robert Flues, Detroit, Mich. 



2. Winthrop DeForest Piper, Keene, N. H. 



3. LeRoy Zork, Lancaster, Pa. 



C. The best flowers raised in a school garden: 



No awards. 



D. The best vegetables raised in a school garden: 



1. Eugene Kados, New York City. 



2. William Hirshman, New York City. 

 George Marks, New York City. 



3. Laurence Marks, New York City. 



£. The greatest variety of vegetables or flowers: 



1. Howard O'Connell, Providence, R. I. 



2. Abram Kuhms, Lancaster. Pa. 

 Alexander Barclay, Ardonia, N. Y 



3. Kenneth Moir, Toronto, Can. 



CLASS II 



A. The finest looking garden of three years' or more cultiva- 



tion : 



Rhode Island Normal School, Providence, R. I. 



B. The finest looking garden of less than three years' culti- 



vation: 



Woodlawn School, Portland, Oregon. 



C. The greatest improvement of school grounds or unsightly 



spots under the care of contestants: 



1. Under city conditions: 



The Seventh Street School, Los Angeles, Cal. 



2. Under country conditions: 



The Briggsville School, North Adams, Mass. 



CLASS III 



A. The best display of garden products at an annual exhibit: 

 The Rural School, Groton, Mass. 



