162 
CHILDREN'S GARDENS 
v 
a waste corner that you might be allowed to 
trench ; even a very tiny corner will grow a 
good quantity. They have to be planted in the 
spring, and it is the “eyes” or spots, which are 
really sprouts, that are put into the ground. 
If you can get a few potatoes you can cut them 
into pieces, containing two or three eyes, or 
even one eye if you have not got many. All 
the summer you will only have to keep them 
weeded, and when the tops die down at the 
end of October or beginning of November, 
clear away the rubbish and then dig the plants 
up with a fork, and for each eye you have put 
into the ground, you may get quite a nice lot 
of large potatoes. I used to have very success¬ 
ful crops. 
Near my garden there were large heaps of 
the leaves that had been swept up in the 
autumn. They were left there until the leaves 
were decayed and become good leaf-mould soil. 
Such heaps are very necessary, but they did not 
look very beautiful, so I asked if I might make 
them look better by planting some vegetable 
marrows on them. As it did the heaps no 
harm, I was allowed to; and very fine marrows 
I had. I then tried pumpkins, and various 
kinds of ornamental gourds. One hot summer 
I grew some fine bottles on a “bottle gourd,” 
and the pumpkins were a great success. I had 
