SCOUTING FOR GIRLS 
457 
is joy in the contemplation of a perfect work, even 
though it be on a small scale, that never comes from 
a more ambitious undertaking imperfectly carried out. 
Better six square feet of well tilled, weedless, thrifty 
garden than an acre poorly cultivated and full of weeds. 
A Girl Scout who proposes to make a garden will 
naturally ask herself certain questions. If she has the 
ground, if she knows already where her garden is to be 
placed, the next thing, perhaps, that she will wish to 
know is, what tools will be needed. Then follows the 
way to treat the soil in order to prepare it for planting 
the seeds. After that comes the question of seeds and 
the way to plant them. Then the cultivation of the 
crops until they are ready to be gathered. 
Here, then, we have material for short sections on 
(1) tools, (2) preparation of the soil, (3) selection of 
seeds, (4) planting, and (5) cultivation. 
(1) Tools 
Not many tools will be needed, but some seem to be 
indispensable. I would suggest: 1. A spading fork. 
Some like a long-handled fork, others prefer a short- 
handled one. 2. A hoe. 3. A garden or iron-toothed 
rake. 4. A hand weeder of some kind. 5. A shovel. 
In addition to these tools every gardener will find it 
necessary to have a line for making straight rows. This 
should be at least the length of the longest dimension 
of the garden and white that it may be easily seen. 
There should be two pegs to stick it in with. I should 
add a board about ten inches wide with straight edges 
and as long as the bed is wide, and a pointed stick. 
(2) The Preparation of the Seed Bed 
The first thing to do, after having determined the 
location of your garden, is to measure your bed. If 
you have a single bed, one twelve feet long by six feet 
