— 2- 



Since Professor Howe's article on cultivating the 

 garden is to be found elsewhere in this issue of The 

 School News, you will refer to that when in doubt as to 

 the treatment your school garden soil requires. Remem- 

 ber that the great part of plant substance is water which 

 carries all other plant food in solution up through the 

 plant system. Think how helpless the plants would be 

 in obtaining food if the soil should be thoroughly dried 

 out. In order to avoid this drying out do not use a water- 

 ing can but take a rake and follow the new plan for 

 watering gardens. 



If you wish to test the value of sunlight to your gar- 

 den, take a cigar box and cover a small portion of your 

 lettuce row after the seeds have germinated. Examine 

 the young plants underneath from day to day and com- 

 pare them with the ones having the benefit of the sun- 

 shine. 



LIFE STRUGGLE OF PLANTS. 



If you have sown your lettuce seed very close you 

 will have a crowded colony of lettuce plants each one 

 struggling for its share of sunlight, food, moisture and 

 room. Look elsewhere than in your garden rows for evi- 

 dences of this same struggle for a chance to live. Exam- 

 ine a spruce or pine tree and find out what happens to the 

 small inner branches. When walking through dense 

 woods stop for a little while and examine some of the 

 seedlings which are crowded very close together. Notice 

 their shape. Are the branches wide spreading? Explain 

 their direction of growth and notice where their leaves 

 are borne. Do not cease to think about this life struggle 

 which plants carry on until you have found for yourselves 

 illustrations of this and have recorded them in your note 

 book, nor until you have come to realize that this strug- 



