Cornell University Library OF THE Rew Work State College of Agriculture Ianto H rocket oie | = PE Pe Re be 28 |e lio “S500 Cornell University Library The school garden book, “wi Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu3 1924001685464 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK i= 8 vv o 3 io) 2 om E a g s a co) y iN a Ay < THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK BY CLARENCE M. WEED State Normal School, Lowell, Massachusetts AND PHILIP EMERSON Cobbet Grammar School, Lynn, Massachusetts ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS FOO? Copyright, 1900, by CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS CHAPTER I. II. II. IV. VI. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PART I THE GARDEN MONTH BY MONTH SEPTEMBER : 3 Modern Dahlias. Growing Plants from Cuttings. A Glorious Autumn Flower. Planting Bulbs Out-doors. The September Calendar. OCTOBER Cosmos: A Beautiful Annual. Sweet Herbs. Getting the Garden Ready. California Poppies. Growing Hya- cinths In-doors. The October Calendar. NovEMBER ; i : ; ‘ : The Chrysanthemum. Autumn Perennial Flowers. Planting Daffodils In-doors. Annual Flowers for Win- dow-boxes. The November Calendar. DECEMBER : : : . Flowering Plants for Window Gardens. Growing Lily- of-the-Valley In-doors. The Selection of Seed. Grow- ing Named Varieties. Roman Hyacinths. The De- cember Calendar. JANUARY ‘ Attractive Foliage Plants. Clay Flower-jars. Seed Testing. The Classification of Vegetables. The Jan- uary Calendar. : FEBRUARY : ; Daffodils. Starting Early Vegetables. Seed-Leaves or Cotyledons. The February Calendar. Vv ‘PAGE 29) 55 73 89 103 123 vi CONTENTS CHAPTER VII. Marca . : ; ; : : A Neighborhood Garden Club. Starting Early Flowers. Radishes. The March Calendar. VIII. Aprin ‘ ; ; ‘ ‘ ; : Children’s Home Gardens. The Spring Awakening. Planting Hardy Annuals. The April Calendar. IX. May . : : : : ‘ : ‘ : Hardy Perennials. Climbing Vines. Window-boxes and Porch-boxes. Planting Tender Annuals. The May Calendar. X. JUNE ‘ F : . ‘ Iris Border Gardens. Beets, Turnips and Carrots. Poppies. Summer Flowering Bulbs. The June Cal- endar. XI. Jury. : : ; ‘ ‘ 2 Sweet Peas. Beans for Garden Culture. The Structure of the Flower. Nasturtiums. The July Calendar. XII. Aucust d : ‘ : : 2 : Useful Flower-jars. Marigolds. Pot Herb Crops. Plan- ning for Winter Flowers. Pansies. The August Cal- endar. PART II GARDEN EXERCISES FOR PUPILS XIII. GENERAL EXERCISES XIV. SprinG FLOWERING BuLBs XV. FLOWERS FROM SEED NVI. VEGETABLES . : ‘ i BIBLIOGRAPHY. ‘ P [NDEX PAGE 137 153 I7I 193 213 227 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS A Prize Garden and Its Gardener Frontispiece PAGE Garden of the South End Industrial School, ne Massachusetts 2 Window-box of Sheet Zinc ‘ ‘ ‘ : . 4 White Hyacinths in Paper Pot set in jardinitre ; : 5 Some Good Weeders 5 . : : 8 China Aster Seedling ‘ : 2 53 A Young Gardener and His ‘Team’ : : » 15 Single Cactus Dahlia : . 27 Striped Single Dahlia: Fedora 28 A Show Dahlia’ ; 3 . 30 Decorative Dahlia: Mrs. Winters : “, ge Rooted Cutting of Geranium 2 : » 36 Young Geranium Grown from a Cutting ° F i - 38 Young Geranium Plant in a Paper Flower-pot . ‘i 5 . - 38 Begonia Stem Cutting ‘ 2 - : 2 ° + 39 Gloxinia Leaf Cutting - 39 China Asters = 42 Dwarf Comet Asters : : F ‘ « 43 Comet Asters in Bamboo Holder. From “The Flower Beautiful” . 44 Fifty Bulbs of Campernelle Jonquil : ; ‘ . 46 Long-stemmed Tulips 4 48 Bulbs of Madonna Lilies 49 White Cosmos 53 Pink Cosmos in Austrian Glass Vase . ‘ 54 Parsley Seedling . : : - 59 Spearmint Cuttings Rooting in Saad . ‘ : ‘ - 60 Sage Seedling ‘ ‘ 61 A Young Gardener . 62 California Poppies in a Slender Vase 65 Hyacinth Growing in Water in a Tall Hyacinth Glass 66 Three Hyacinth Bulbs Grown in Four-inch Paper Flower-pot . 67 vil viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Chrysanthemum Flower Chrysanthemums in a Japanese Eyitndes ia New England Asters in a Japanese Flower-jar . Twelve Bulbs of Chinese Lily Narcissus Water Culture of Chinese Lilies Water Culture of Paper-white Narcissus Single Geranium Single Geranium in a mpasaanese Tavdiniere The Baby Primrose Cyclamen Blossoms ‘ Lilies-of-the-Valley in Japanese Faw -jar Plumose Asparagus Silk Oak or Grevillea Seedling Asparagus Sprengeri Norfolk Island Pine in a Japanese Jardiniére Rex Begonia in a Japanese Flower-jar The Umbrella Plant Crocus in a Clay Flower-jar Tomato Seedlings in a Window-box Trumpet Daffodil Single Trumpet Daffodils in a Japanese oe A Double Daffodil The Stella Narcissus . Trumpet Daffodils Onion Seedling ; Tomato Seedlings: The Rise and Fall of the Cotyledons Crocus Blossoms : ‘ : . Poet’s Narcissus. From ‘‘The Flower Beautiful” A Home Garden: Cobbet School, Lynn, Massachusetts Wild Cucumber Three Generations in the Home ‘Garde French Marigold Nasturtium Seedling in Paper Flower-pot Easter Lily Tulips for the Home Garden A Boy’s Home Garden A Good Home Garden Parsnip Seedling Getting the Garden Ready PAGE 71 72 80 82 83 83 87 88 go gI 92 IOI 102 105 106 107 108 109 I12 121 122 124 124 126 129 131 135 136 138 139 142 T45 146 151 1§2 155 158 160 163 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix PAGE Drummond Phlox ‘ : ‘ 105 Blossoms of Coreopsis ‘ F 166 Trumpet Daffodils é 169 Peonies in a Japanese Flower-jar : 179 Perennial Phlox 5 172 Trollius or Globe Flower 2 P : 173 Plan for a Border Garden of China Asters 188 Oriental Iris i : IQI Siberian Iris 192 Plan for Iris Border Garden 194 German Iris 195 Japanese Iris 197 Bulbs of English Iris ‘ 198 Plan for Subirrigation 199 White Shirley Poppies. From ‘‘The Flower Beautiful” 206 Gladiolus . F ; : 4 . ; é 207 A Jar of Tuberoses . 208 Celia Thaxter’s Garden. 211 Hooded Sweet Peas . z 4 \28T2 Typical Forms of Hooded Sweet Peas 214 Snapdragon Sweet Peas’. 215 Shirley Poppy 218 Snapdragon 219 Nasturtiums in a Rose Bowl 221 Madonna Lilies : ‘ : 225 Oriental Iris in a Japanese Flower-jar 3 226 Perennial Phlox in a Japanese Flower-jar 228 Nasturtiums in a Green Glass Flower-jar 229 Cosmos in a Slender Vase ‘ 230 Japanese Iris in an Izumo Vase : 231 Tall or African Marigolds , : é 233 African Marigolds in a Bamboo Wall-holder. From “The Flower Beautiful” : 234 A Plan for a Marigold Border Garden 235 * e authors desire to express their thanks to Roger Newton Perry for the photo- faph of on Veune Gardener and His Team”, to the Committee on Children’s Gardens of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, for several of the other out-door views; to the Hough- ton-Mifflin Company for the privilege of using the four pictures and the short discussion of Poppies from ‘t The Flower Beautiful”; and to Misses Isabelle Cragin and Alice Manning for several of the drawings of flowers and young plants. THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK “s}jasnypeusseyy 3 SNpuy pug yINes om Jo usparsy a =. p a ht Ee Si THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK INTRODUCTION From the point of view of this book the school garden is any garden in which a boy or girl of school age takes an active interest. It may be simply a tiny seedling growing in a little flower-pot in-doors or an extensive series of garden crops growing in a large garden out-doors. So far as crops are concerned, however, the scope of the book is limited to flowers and vegetables, no attempt being made to include the fruits, large or small, the ornamental trees and shrubs, or the agricultural crops. The gardens to be considered from this point of view may be collective or individual, or both; they may be in-doors or out-doors, or both; they may be at the school or the home, or both. In all of these cases the plants to be grown are much the same and the methods involved in growing them are similar. Yet, a short preliminary discussion of special plans and methods to be used in connection with these various kinds of gardens may be worth while. In-door Gardens Few objects add so much to the attractiveness of a school- room, or a living-room in the home, as a good window-box filled with beautiful flowering plants. In the great majority of cases such a box will be much more successful as well as a EY o 4 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK great deal more attractive than are the unsightly flower-pots which are so commonly used for growing plants in-doors. Five things are required by a living plant—food, warmth, moisture, light, and air: granted these, a plant should live and thrive in almost any sort of situation. The proportions in which different plants require these five essentials vary decidedly, and in growing flowers in the house we must understand the conditions required by the particular plant Window-box of Sheet Zinc. we are dealing with. In general, the necessary conditions are most easily given by means of window-boxes, which may be placed near the window that an abundance of light and air may readily be obtained. And it is not at all necessary that this window-box should be a crude, unsightly affair: it should rather be a carefully made, attractive object, har- monizing with the interior of the room and adding to its general effect. It is worth while to go to some trouble and expense in order that the receptacle for such a little garden in-doors should be so attractive that it may always be used with satisfaction. The most satisfactory window-boxes are made of sheet zinc, and are of a length and width to fit the window-sill or to rest upon brackets just beneath it, and of a height of four or five inches. Under the ordinary conditions of a furnace or steam heated home or school-room, plants will thrive in INTRODUCTION 5 these water-tight boxes with absolutely no provision for drainage or the escape of surplus moisture from the bottom. Evaporation takes place so rapidly from the upper surface of the soil that, with any reasonable common sense in water- ing, there is no danger of the souring of the soil or of the checking of the growth of the plants. In watering it is only necessary to pour in enough water about twice a week to saturate the soil and then to leave it until the surface has become dry again. These boxes should be re-en- forced around the top with a strip of wire, and if they are very long another wire should run across from side to side in the middle. They can be made by any tin-smith, and when complete should cost about one dollar apiece. They should be painted on the outside, and at — White Hyacinths in Paper Pot Set in least part of the way down on pence the inside with dark-green carriage paint. When thus ready for use they are to be filled with rich loamy garden soil, whereupon they may be utilized in growing almost any sort of plant that will thrive in-doors. Instead of being made of zinc alone these boxes may be made of wood and lined with zinc. The wood may be finished to harmonize with the wood-work of the room. Very attractive boxes may be made of old cedar wood. 6 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK Such boxes are particularly useful for starting seedlings, as well as for holding flower-pots in which bulbs or other plants are growing. They have the great advantage that they can be turned end for end at frequent intervals and thus cause the leaves and blossoms of the plants growing in them to take on a symmetrical appearance. There is also an advantage in the fact that in very cold weather such boxes can easily be removed from the window. In general, such window-boxes will be in the nature of collective gardens, representing the interest of the whole school. As a rule the only individual gardens practicable in-doors will be those grown either in special small boxes or in flower-pots. Such individual gardens are practicable in the case of a number of plants which may be grown from seed, as well as in the case of the spring flowering bulbs and various plants which are grown from cuttings. The paper flower-pots, which may be obtained from any florist or seeds- man, are in many respects more desirable than the ordinary pottery ones. They have special advantages in their cheap- ness, in the ease with which they may be stored away in little space, in the small amount of room they take up when placed side by side in a window-box or on a plant-shelf, and especially in the fact that evaporation does not take place from the sides of the pots as it does in the case of the ordi- nary flower-pots. These paper pots are not easily broken, so they can be carried safely from the school to the home by little children, and they are so inexpensive that any school can afford to provide them for the use of the pupils. The smaller sizes cost but twenty-five cents per hundred. INTRODUCTION 7 Out-door Gardens Passing now to the out-door gardens, we come, of course,. to a field in which the range of possibilities varies with the conditions of almost every school. It is true, however, that even under the most adverse conditions some kind of collec- tive garden at least is possible. If it is nothing more than an outside window-box, it may easily become of important service in the work of the school. In collective gardens short rows or parts of longer rows may be planted by individual pupils in connection with a plan for a complete whole, in which the part done by each pupil shall serve as a unit. For any gardens but the very smallest this will probably be found a more satisfactory method than to have the collective garden planted without distinguishing the part done by each pupil. The school which has an opportunity for each pupil to have an individual garden is fortunate indeed. The size as well as the crops to be grown will depend, of course, upon the conditions and the interest shown by the teacher and pupils. Such crops may be planned for the entire season or for only the early part of the season, and suggestions for the special crops to be grown under these varying conditions will be found in the later pages of this book. The final end of the school garden is the home garden. In any community the success of the school garden movement after it has been in operation for a number of years will prop- erly be measured by its results in bringing about a general love for flowers and plants, as shown by the gardens and home grounds of the pupils that have been in attendance. In the case of the home gardens the opportunities, of course, are infinitely varied, but here again it will almost 8 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK always be possible for a pupil who so desires to have some sort of garden. The tools necessary for school garden work are neither elaborate nor expensive. A spade, a hoe, a rake, and a trowel are perhaps the most essential parts of the garden outfit; and it is very desirable that they be supplemented by Some Good Weeders. one or two good forms of weeders, a garden line, and a watering-can, the latter especially in those cases when water- ing from a hose is not practicable. When once supplied these tools will, of course, last indefinitely, and pupils should always leave them thoroughly clean and hung in the proper places. If the only visible results of the school garden work are found in the crops grown, the garden has only served a part of its purpose. It should supply the material for a consider- able proportion of the school work in drawing and English, and may very well help to vitalize the work in arithmetic and geography. At least one garden booklet should be made by every pupil who has anything to do with the garden, this booklet to contain the drawings and language records of the pupils. In the following pages this phase of the work has been constantly kept in mind, and some of the illustrations are transcripts from such garden records or suggestions for helping to make them. A pocket note-book for each pupil INTRODUCTION 9 will be desirable, in order that the memoranda of dates may be made at the proper time. Plans and Problems School gardens should present in concrete form the best ideals for home gardens and grounds. It is desirable, there- fore, that the design and planting plans for the surroundings of a new school, or for the betterment of an old school-yard, should be prepared by a landscape gardener employed for the purpose. Where this is not yet possible, a superin- tendent or principal should take special pains to study the conditions of a school-yard and its surrounding homes, then apply the principles of general landscape gardening as pre- sented in the completed development of school grounds else- where. The work of carrying out these plans should be done by the pupils, in the course of a series of years, that they may properly profit thereby, and protect as their own these improvements. In general, lawns bordered by shrubbery and hardy flower- ing plants, with vines clothing the walls of the school building, should characterize the school grounds next the street, a type of good home grounds. The out-door school gardens are best placed at the side of the school buildings, when a sunny exposure is possible there, separated from ample playgrounds in the rear with their bordering shade trees. For many schools and teachers, however, the practical prob- lem must be that of accomplishing results with little encour- agement at first and under difficult conditions. But there, too, a fine and fit ideal, wisely set forth in practicable plans according to which one may work, is essential to economy of effort and to full success. 10 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK All difficulties may be overcome. Where school-yard space is very limited, it is likely that homes are likewise crowded in close tenements. Then outside window-boxes, porch and shed tops, should be utilized. Or the sunny borders of the playground may be planted, being protected by a low, stout rail from encroaching play. In return, the remaining play space may be multiplied by home-made apparatus. It is sur- prising how many children find amusement on a long four- inch plank tilt, or swarm up and down climbing ladders, poles, and ropes. So, if ground space is already limited, carry either gardens or play into the air. A school garden need not be in the school-yard, although most parts of one are best placed there. Adjoining back yards and near-by vacant lots may be used. Wherever ad- jacent houses encroach on gardens, it will be found that much valuable soil now lies fallow. The former owners have departed, and present tenants either do not know the gar- dener’s art or lack time and inclination to apply it. But they will often accord to a school the privilege of using a weedy back yard or neglected garden. Its management the first year determines the continuance of the privilege. If a hack yard is small, it may still supply space for a propa- gating bed of perennials, or opportunity to experiment with various annual flowers and to raise seedlings for distribution to home gardens. A larger yard or a vacant lot may be divided into individual garden plots, so that every pupil of a class or grade may have een practice under school supervision. Many school-yards have been graded with gravel and ashes to form playgrounds, so that lack of good soil is an obstacle to making a garden. This condition frequently requires INTRODUCTION Ir rather costly measures. Some soils may be enriched by lib- eral manuring, and for this purpose fertalizers may be obtained free of expense from near-by stables, even in a city. Some schools have made a start on a small scale with soil brought from the woods and from home gardens in little bags by the children. Thoroughgoing work, however, implies the purchase of soil in liberal quantity. While this should be provided by the school authorities, some communities are not yet ready to approve such public expenditure. Ex- perience shows that in such cases it is possible to raise funds easily by a school entertainment or by a subscription taken among the parents. To use the money to the best advan- tage, one should watch for the opportunity to secure the soil from a contractor, when a cellar is being dug on a lot with good soil in the neighborhood of the school. It is wise to place the soil deeply, say twenty inches in depth, rather than in a shallow layer in order to secure a larger garden. Plants will live in shallow soil, but they thrive in thoroughly culti- vated deep soil. In some communities public sentiment may still class school gardening as a useless fad. This hostility may be changed. The hearty endorsement and co-operation of superintendent and school board is a first requisite. The aid of the press may be secured to praise the work elsewhere, to call for its introduction, to approve heartily the first efforts in the community, to call for its active development and for the substantial aid of the authorities. In connection with a parents’ association, or an improvement club, a public meet- ing may be held to present values and methods, for school gardening only needs to be fairly presented to win ample support. 12 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK At times hoodlums discourage school gardening by up- rooting and overturning plants and flower-boxes in sheer vandalism. This has been overcome in many places by persistent effort until general pride in the results secured affects even the members of street gangs and insures their appreciation. Such a victory is well worth the patience, skill, and labor it costs, for it means that home grounds and gardens will be respected as never before, because of the finer public spirit developed and spread through the children to every neighborhood and home. School Garden Exhibits Competitive exhibitions of garden products are very help- ful in extending and intensifying interest in horticulture. When one sees an array of beautiful flowers of many types and varieties, or tables set forth with displays of fair fruit and fine vegetables, he wishes he possessed a garden full of such products, and quite naturally resolves to grow another season the sorts that please him best. Moreover, every exhibitor, comparing his choicest products with those shown by others, is stimulated to renewed endeavors, that he may rank as high or higher at the next prize competition. Exhibitions of the products of school gardens and children’s home gardens have repeatedly proved the means of convincing the public that gardening by children is worth while, for the best results from many districts and homes are thereby impressively massed, and many people may visit such displays easily. An exhibition should be planned in advance if possible. The classes of exhibits in which entries are desired should be announced in the papers or by circulars. The announce- ment may invite general displays of flowers and also of INTRODUCTION 13 vegetables, from school gardens and from children’s gardens, or it may ask for exhibits of flowers and vegetables of a few sorts that the children are thus stimulated to grow with special care. In the latter case it is usual to limit the num- ber of specimens allowed; for example, to a dozen vases of Comet Asters, one blossom in each, or to four heads of lettuce. This favors quality rather than quantity, and makes it easier to compare exhibits. A few simple rules as to entries and the award of prizes should be adopted and announced. As an aid in prepar- ing these, send to the secretary of some horticultural or agricultural society of your section asking for their schedule of exhibits and prizes. In the case of a children’s gar- | den exhibition, it is wise to make sure that many children will cer- tainly exhibit products, for they often fear to do so in the belief that their products are not worthy. It is often advisable, also, to get the best amateur gardeners, the most successful farmers, local florists, and large estates of wealthy men who employ professional gardeners, to contribute displays, if the hall is large enough. Their fine exhibits need not discourage the children, nor belittle the children’s achievements in the mind of the public. They will rather heighten the enthusiasm of both children and public for the fine art of horticulture. China Aster Seedling. 14 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK It is well to give space at a school garden exhibition for selected illustrations of the regular school work that is based upon the gardening. For example, a series of sketches of flowers and plants in line and color, illustrating the work of successive grades, may be hung from wires against the walls. The garden note-books of the children, and their booklets of sketches with pen, pencil, and brush describing chosen flowers, may be placed on a table. The public will be as much interested in this handiwork as in the flowers and vege- tables. A display of photographs of gardens and of flowers forms an appropriate and attractive feature for an exhibition. The general public will be especially interested if at an- nounced hours of the afternoon and evening groups of chosen pupils may be seen at work. Some may draw or paint flow- ers. Others may show how plants should be propagated from slips, making cuttings, and setting them in sand, and also potting cuttings already rooted. These potted slips may then be sold for the benefit of the school garden-fund. Perhaps an agricultural fair or horticultural display is to be held near your school. If so, be sure to enter products from your garden. Even if they win no prize, you will find it well worth your effort, for you will see more clearly what you must do to succeed another year. Study the list of classes of exhibits and the rules carefully. Plan your entries in advance. Prepare neat exhibition labels giving the names of all varieties you intend to show. Very early in the morn- ing of the exhibition day cut the flowers you have chosen for display, and in case they are to be carried some distance, lay them loosely and carefully in a roomy box separated by tissue paper, where they will be kept free from wilting or injury. In the case of vegetables, say carrots, dig enough INTRODUCTION 15 roots so that you may choose specimens to the required number that are of large and uniform size, and of regular form. Before leaving home, clean in water carefully those se- lected. At the hall first enter your exhibit and learn where it should be placed. Secure bottles of water for the flowers, trays for the vegetables, and then carefully take your ex- A Young Gardener and his ‘‘ Team.” A Prize Winner in the Garden Contest of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. hibits from their boxes and properly arrange them. Avoid crowding a display. Dispose its parts carefully to give the most pleasing effect. Plan it as you would a design at school, applying the same principles. It is the custom to award prizes to the best exhibits. In the case of children’s garden exhibits, it is probably best to have the judges rank them in classes, with an indefinite num- 16 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK ber in each class. This stimulates the children to attain a certain standard rather than to distance a competitor. If this should call for many prizes, it need not entail great expense, for the best prizes for young gardeners are supplies for their gardens. Plants, bulbs, books, and the like for this purpose may be purchased very cheaply at wholesale, and will often be donated by interested dealers. Ribbon badges, a color for each rank, have value as prizes, also. A horticultural exhibition by a school or town is well worth all the effort it may cost. Since it may be made profitably even on a very small scale, one may be successfully planned and conducted after school opens in September. Or a group of children may conduct one in their neighborhood. Get the children and home gardeners living near you interested. The editor of your paper will announce your Flower Show. Some parents will provide money for bulbs as prizes, or a small fee for admission may be charged for the same purpose. It can be held in some open barn or clean carriage-house, if no better hall or room seems available. Get a teacher, the nearest florist, and the parent most interested in flowers to act as judges. Try it. School Garden Management The method of conducting school garden work depends upon the standing and stage of development of this phase of education in a community. At first the work may have to be done at recess and after school by the pupils, at the initia- tive and under the direction of their teachers. This plan possesses the merit of being wholly voluntary, hence it enlists the interest and loyalty of the pupils to the full. It can no more succeed to the full as a permanent plan in gardening INTRODUCTION 17 than with any other branch of instruction. Before long, how- ever, gardening will be given recognition in the authorized division of time for most school systems. At first the work may seem strenuous, for a teacher’s ingenuity must be exer- cised to properly supervise a portion of a class at work at their desk and a group busy in the garden. Some teachers have accomplished wonders under such a plan, especially where a principal gives his active co-operation. Much good work may be accomplished by sending pupils out in small squads, threes or fours, to perform definite tasks. One pupil should be foreman in each squad. A written state- ment of work to be done, a contract, should be given him. This foreman should be a reliable boy or girl, possessing good judgment and a capacity for leadership. The teacher must see that he understands the contract and the detail of the task. When completed, the results will be examined by the teacher. This plan enables a teacher to keep class- room work continuously in hand, while allowing pupils most needing garden work to undertake it during the time of studies in which their standing is high or which are not vital to their advancement. Further, it trains boys and girls to act under the guidance of their fellows, and to give directions to their equals, in turn. Wherever there is an enthusiastic teacher or earnest public there will be related interest and devotion on the part of children, and ways and means will be found to conduct the school garden. Some schools have organized garden clubs for home garden work in different neighborhoods and have federated them for co-operation and to maintain the school garden. Improvement societies in some towns and cities have hircd garden teachers to give instruction in the schools and to 18 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK visit the home gardens throughout the summer. Teachers in many schools have made gardening a success through their own devoted efforts until the authorities took the work up and provided special instructors and facilities. The most satisfactory results are, of course, secured where a specially trained instructor in gardening is employed to direct the work of class teachers, and who may personally instruct groups of pupils in the school gardens and visit home | gardens. Some school systems provide a special teacher to every large school, or to two smaller schools, who is unassigned to a class. She is employed mainly to make the graded school system more elastic by aiding pupils who are slow to comprehend, or who have lost work through absence, to maintain or regain class standing, and by helping the ablest pupils to skip grades without loss of essentials. This appeals to all, the most conservative included, as worth the expense. Incidentally, such a teacher makes it possible to conduct field study by groups of pupils with an effectiveness seldom at- tained by regular class teachers. She is also available to take groups of pupils into the garden for systematic work in planting and culture. Under this plan it is wholly possible to secure a teacher in each school who shall be thoroughly competent to give garden instruction and thus ensure full success from the start. School Gardening for Profit While the true purpose of a school garden or a child’s home garden is educational, it may often best attain this end when it becomes commercially successful, at least to the extent of becoming self-supporting. A school garden will naturally give many plants to its pupils as prizes to stimulate INTRODUCTION 19 home gardening, and it may also easily earn money enough to meet all its expenditures by selling plants, flowers, and vege- tables to the public. Fresh vegetables of fine quality command high prices. The public are ready to pay fancy prices to schools or to children without question at the start, and they are willing to continue to do so if the quality of products warrants it. This puts a premium on raising the best of everything that is as effective a stimulus as a prize competition. While it is well worth while to compete at horticultural exhibitions, because pride in the school or home garden will be augmented by success in winning prizes, the finest success is measured rather by the production of vegetables and plants that find a steady market. There are various vegetables rarely seen in markets that may be raised profitably for neighborhood sale. For exam- ple, Swiss chard wilts on the shelves of a stall, but when freshly cut for dinner it is the finest summer pot-herb imagi- nable. Customers who commence its use continue. Families tired of red turnip radishes from the markets will relish crisp white icicle radishes or summer radishes from a boy’s home garden. Those weary of stale and stringy pod beans from the stores will delight in tender beans picked in the neighbor- hood but an hour before dinner. A garden of herbs may be managed so as to enlist a permanent line of customers, who will send for their mint, tarragon, dill, sage, and the like as household need arises. The best plan for profits, however, is the sale of plants for home gardens. The main costs of the hardy plants catalogued by large dealers, and of bedding plants supplied by local florists, are incident to advertising, soliciting orders, packing, 20 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK and transportation. A school may sell plants at a third or a fourth of the usual retail prices and yet secure a good income, since the costs named above are not incurred and the labor cost is nothing, because it is incidental to garden instruction and training. A cold frame is a great help in raising plants for sale, even in the case of vegetables, as it enables one to place lettuce and radishes on the market before their price declines. A cold frame requires no special skill: it is merely a glazed sash, or several sashes, resting on low plank sides so as to incline to the south, and serving both to trap the sun’s heat and to protect plants from frost, wind, and beating rains. Under its cover annual flowering plants may be thickly planted in March. The hardy sorts may be pricked out in the open in April, leaving space to transplant tender kinds within the frames. In May and June these are ready for sale to the public, and for award as prizes to children whose home gardens show that the plants from school will receive careful culture at their hands. When the frames are cleaned of annuals, seeds of biennial and perennial flowering plants may be sown. By late August these may be transplanted. The fully hardy sorts may be set in the open garden. This gives frame space to separate half hardy kinds, such as pansies and daisies, wallflower and snapdragon. Those that are trans- planted with difficulty, like oriental poppies, may be set in pots sunk in the soil of the frames. All of these will be ready for sale in early spring, and in time to give room for separating seedlings of annuals needing frame protection. This general plan has met success in schools of both western and eastern cities. There is ready sale for pots of bulbs which have been well INTRODUCTION 21 rooted and are ready to be brought to the warmth and light for flowering. Many people enjoy seeing them push up their leaves, bud and blossom, who have neither time, skill, nor patience to give the care necessary to start the bulbs. They will pay so liberally that the school need be at no expense for the bulbs and supplies it keeps for its own use. Here again the plan of raising plants for sale leads to the purchase and care of so many bulbs of a kind that every pupil may be given ample practice in their culture. Text-book, Class-room, and Garden Study, teaching, and training should be closely related in school gardening. The garden supplies materials and experi- ence as a basis for class-room sketching, discussion, and com- position. The experiments and discussion of the class-room make clear the principles of plant nature upon which success- ful culture is founded. Portions of this text form a manual of directions for field experiments in the garden as a labora- tory. Other pages best follow the garden work and class- room consideration of the simpler features of special topics. A good plan to use as an introduction to the study of dahlia types, for example, is the display of a collection of dahlia flowers before the class. Frequently the children can bring many varieties from their homes. Local gardeners will gladly contribute blooms of the varieties they keep for sale, and many commercial growers of dahlias will send a box of the blooms marked with their variety names, if a school will pay the express, since future orders will well repay the trouble. When secured, place each variety in a vase or bottle. Have the children arrange them in groups according to the char- acter of the blossoms. Then give them the names for the 22 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK standard types. Let the class choose those that are most graceful and pleasing as cut flowers. Have them note which types and varieties are most lasting. The aster, chrysanthe- mum, iris, and other leading families of flowers may wisely receive similar consideration. This class study, with its training in observation and oral expression, will naturally be accompanied and followed by sketching the flowers and by writing brief descriptions of chosen types or comparisons between types. Thereafter the pupils will appreciate to the full the summary given in the text and be prepared to continue sketches and notes on the dahlia for a September flower booklet. When considering the care of dahlia tubers, tell the pupil the origin of the plant, compare it with the potato, and lead them to infer the care probably necessary. Then raise one plant from the soil, with its tubers and roots, and have the pupils observe the narrow necks of many tubers, the buds at the base of the stalk, the abundant sap, and other features necessary to judge the pains needed when digging and storing dahlia tubers. Thereafter the text serves as a summary of views formed independently upon a basis of observation and inference at school, and as a guide to further well-directed observation and work at home. The same general procedure should be followed with other topics. The chapter on reproducing plants from cuttings may wisely be preceded by a class exercise wherein the teacher calls attention to the roots starting from the blunt lower end of an old geranium plant, once a slip itself, and leads the children to relate previous home experience with slips and plant propagation. Most children have a general knowledge of some common INTRODUCTION 23 vegetables and flowers. A preliminary lesson should review this practical information and use it as a means of judging the proper cultural methods. Then the class will turn to the book with interest and compare their conclusions with those based on longer experience. If some then prefer their own way, well and good; they will then give special care to the succeeding experiment to see how far they may be right. PART I THE GARDEN MONTH BY MONTH SEPTEMBER Single Cactus Dahlia. A garden should be connected with every school, where children can at times gaze upon trees, flowers, and herbs, and be taught to enjoy them.—ComMeENIus. Striped Single Dahlia: Fedora, I SEPTEMBER MODERN DAHLIAS The month of September is a season for the enjoyment of flowers full more than for their culture. Our appreciation of anything depends very largely upon our knowledge of it. Consequently, if we are to take the greatest delight in the September blossoms, we need to know them intimately. As we learn to distinguish the leading types and varieties by name we come to appreciate more fully the peculiar charac- teristics of form, color, or fragrance that gives to each the grace and interest we prize. An excellent way to learn to know a flower is to reproduce it in some sort of drawing. Consequently, the pages for the garden booklet of this opening month of the school year may well be a record with pencil, brush, or pen of the leading classes of the prominent autumn flowers. As you become familiar with the choice treasures of the school garden, you will plan quite naturally to grow some yourself another year, and this is a good season to secure seeds, bulbs, or slips of the sorts that please you best. One of the most remarkable of recent developments in the growing of plants is the renewed interest in the cultivation of the dahlia. A few years ago this flower was seldom found outside the old-fashioned gardens, where the large globular varieties, of the type called the Show Dahlia, were chiefly in. 29 30 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK evidence. To most people these artificial-looking blossoms had very little interest, and consequently were rarely planted. During the last few years, however, the general introduction of the Pompon, the Decorative, and especially the Cactus Dahlias, has served to in- crease very greatly the popularity of the flower, as well as largely to ex- tend its range of useful- ness. Several well-marked types of dahlia are now available for any garden, and are displayed as a central attraction of every September exhibit. The Show Dahlia is still grown widely, for a large num- ber of varieties in an ex- traordinary range of color have been introduced, while the qualities have been greatly improved through careful selection. You will notice them in very many border gardens, where they make a pleasing appearance along fences and walls or the sides of buildings. While too heavy and formal to possess the grace one desires for cut flowers, they are yet extremely beautiful in their coloring. The more striking varieties, those striped, spotted, or with light margins to the petals against a darker ground color, are sometimes separately classed as Fancy Dahlias, although A Show Dahlia. MODERN DAHLIAS 3t this adjective is used in distinguishing similar colored vari- eties of the other types. For almost a century the Pompon Dahlias have been grown, especially on account of their value in furnishing cut flowers, since they blossom profusely and throughout a long period. On this account they are often called Bouquet Dahlias, while by the Germans, with whom these flowers have been very popular, they have been commonly called Lilli- putian Dahlias. They originated about 1808 with a German gardener, who is said to have first obtained the flower as a sport, or accidental variation, from the single-flowered dahlia. A large number of varieties are now offered, the flowers hav- ing a great range of coloring, while they cost less than new varieties of the other types. The plants are usually low in habit, and are used for bedding as well as for growing in the border in front of the taller classes of dahlias. By far the most popular type of dahlia is the cactus- flowered form. In this the petals have the edges rolled back lengthwise, and these long, narrow florets are oddly yet gracefully curved in marked contrast to the Show Dahlia. With the introduction of this wonderful blossom, an array of possibilities almost as great as has been seen in the de- velopment of the chrysanthemum was at once opened up. The precise origin of this type is somewhat mysterious. In 1872, a gardener in Holland received from Mexico a box of dahlias, most of which had been ruined through long delay in transit. One of them, however, developed into a Cactus Dahlia, the first one known to European gardeners. From this single plant the numerous modern varieties have been developed, and by careful selection in the hands of many growers the blossoms have been constantly improved. There 32 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK are hundreds of beautiful named varieties to-day, varying greatly in color, and very soon we may expect a flower which is extremely desirable for many purposes. At present most of the Cactus Dahlias do not last long as cut flowers; but this quality is being improved, and the flowers are so beau- tiful for interior decora- tion as well as for garden adornment that one can afford to renew a supply in the flower jars at fre- quent intervals. The Decorative Dahlia is another recently de- veloped and very desira- ble type. It has very large, loosely formed blos- soms, with broad petals, of a type somewhat in- termediate between the Show and Cactus Dahlias. While the Decorative Dahlias have not the bizarre beauty of form Decorative Dahlia: Mrs. Winters. shown by the cactus sorts, they are, nevertheless, attractive in a quiet way, and are useful for cutting as well as for the border garden. Although it has frequently been predicted that they would go out of cultivation in competition with the cactus forms, many new and beautiful varieties are introduced every year, and the catalogues continue to give long lists of sorts, an indication that they are holding their own in popular favor. MODERN DAHLIAS 33 The single dahlias are among the most striking blossoms produced in modern gardens. The flowers are of immense size, with the broad petals of the ray florets furnishing a ground for the most lavish display of color. The flowers are so large that they attract attention from a considerable distance, and consequently may be used along walls and fences which are too far away from the garden paths to be adorned by plants with smaller flowers. The sub-type of Century Dahlias is one of the most striking of recent intro- ductions. The plants are tall and branch freely, while the flowers are correspondingly large, sometimes over seven inches in diameter. For decorative grace that renders them of extraordinary value for use as cut flowers, none of the dahlias can compare with the single cactus forms. There is an element of beauty about these that reminds one of the orchids, and their long petals display some of the most delicate colors imaginable. Any one who aspires to a representative collection of dahlias should certainly plant some of this type, of which Lord Goff is one of the best varieties. Some forms are intermediate between single and double types of dahlias. Very recently semi-double Peony Dahlias have been introduced from Holland, which are akin to the Decorative Dahlia in their large, loose petals and pleasing flower form. As is always the case with a flower which is leaping into popularity, some types are introduced which have merely the value of oddity, but in which the real beauty of the flower has been sacrificed. In the case of the dahlia this is illustrated in the French Collarette Dahlias, which have been largely advertised as a desirable novelty. No one with a discriminating sense of the beauty of Ld 34 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK flowers would care to plant these monstrosities a second season. Give every leading dahlia type place in your note-book. Make sketches of typical dahlia blossoms, and if the flower details are too difficult for you to paint or draw, then care- fully represent in color or line one typical floret. Illustrate in other ways your accounts of the form and coloring of the blossoms, the habits of the plants, and their uses. If you take photographs, mount some that show fine groups of dahlias, and place with them in your book plans that show how dahlias are used in the best gardens in your community. Pictures of the different types may be cut from old cata- logues and used to illustrate some pages. Make a list of the best-named varieties under each type which you see at the September flower shows, as a guide to purchase the following spring. Probably you have some dahlias in your school or home garden. They will soon need care. Since the plant origi- nated in Mexico it is not hardy in a cold temperate climate, and, like the potato, the tubers must be cared for in some cellar through the winter. As soon as the first frosts have blighted the bloom and foliage of the dahlias, their stalks should be cut down to within a foot of the ground, and the mass of tubers should be lifted. Push a spading fork under- neath the clump, from a distance to one side, then raise tubers and soil together. This should be done so carefully that no tubers will be cut or torn from the plant, for the buds are at the base of the stalk, and a piece of dahlia tuber, un- like a cutting of a potato, cannot produce a plant. The tubers must be kept in some cellar such as is suitable for storing potatoes or root crops. It should not be too near MODERN DAHLIAS ; 35 the furnace where the tubers will dry up, neither where they will freeze, nor where abundant moisture will favor fungous growth and decay. Since the stalk holds an abun- dance of watery sap, the tubers should be placed on their side for a day or two to allow this to run off, thus avoiding decay of the base of the stalk with its buds. The earth floor of a cellar closet or bin is usually a safe place for storing. Some pack the clumps loosely into barrels. Every clump should be marked with the variety and type names on a wooden tag wired to the base of the stalk. If you have no dahlias of your own to care for thus, quite possibly some neighbor may have a surplus of some sorts and be glad to give you or your school clumps which he himself does not intend to take up and preserve. GROWING PLANTS FROM CUTTINGS An eminent horticulturist has said that one plant in a tin can may be of more help and inspiration to some mind than a whole lawn with beautiful flowers may be to another. One who has loved and cherished a garden of any kind will be able to appreciate the truth of this statement, and to realize the delight to be found in watching a plant as it grows. This delight is felt to its fullest extent when one has started the plant himself and has toward it the feeling one has for the things of his own growing. Aside from the growing of plants from seed the simplest method of propagating many plants is by Cuttage. This is defined as ‘‘the practice or process of multiplying plants by the means of cuttings.” And a cutting is defined as “a severed portion of a plant inserted in soil or water with the intention that it shall grow; a slip.” 36 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK It is easy to see that the requirements of a part of the plant thus cut off from any connection with the roots are different from those of the normal growing plant. The lat- ter thrives in direct sunshine and in the open air, the water which passes freely from the leaves being replaced through the roots; but in the cutting no such replacing of water can take place unless the cut end is in water or some material saturated with water. The cut- ting is a plant without a root, and its first business is to develop a root system. The cuttings of many plants will do this quickly and surely if we give them the right conditions. The simplest way of inducing a cutting to send out roots is to place it in water. If you will put the end of a willow twig in a bottle of water for a few weeks you will see the roots come out in great numbers. The same process will take place, but perhaps more slowly, if you immerse a slip of a Rose Geranium or an end of a gloxinia leaf in water; and very good plants of these flowers may be started in this way. A method that is not quite so simple, but is in general more satisfactory, is to start the cutting in moist sand or sandy soil. For this purpose a special little garden is desirable. A window-garden box or a shallow box of almost any sort may be filled with two or three inches of clean sand and used as a propagating box. This will probably be the most satisfac- tory method. When the cuttings are first planted, have a sheet of paper laid over the box to exclude direct sunshine, Rooted Cutting of Geranium. PLANTS FROM CUTTINGS 37 and if the room is warm and dry, arrange to confine the air in the box by a covering of glass. The commonest cuttings of house plants are stem cuttings. One of the simplest illustrations of such cuttings is to be found in slips of the common geranium. A vigorous branch is cut off or broken off at a place where it will snap easily— for roots start best from young, growing portions—and is then trimmed off just below a node or the place where a leaf comes out. Only two or three leaves should be left on the slip, that no more water may evaporate than the plant can supply without roots. The slip is now ready to plant, and should be inserted into the sand of the propagating box to a distance of about two inches. Ina few weeks a special hardened tissue called the callus will have formed over the cut end of the stem, and a little later roots will appear through or near the callus. As soon as these roots are started the new plant may be potted in a small pot, where more roots will continue to develop as the plant grows. The geranium is an illustration of what is called a soft- wood cutting. One can also grow hard-wood cuttings in a very similar way. Early in spring cut from a thrifty young willow a piece of twig about six inches long and insert it in sand in the same way that the geranium was inserted. In two or three weeks roots will have started, and the cutting - may be planted in a three-inch pot, and later planted out- doors where it can continue to grow. Hard-wood cuttings are sometimes induced to root by burying them in the soil or sand for several weeks, then bringing them to the surface that the buds may develop. The story of “Mary’s Garden and How it Grew” gives an interesting account of reproducing the California Privet for a hedge in this way. 38 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK Young Geranlum Grown from a Cutting. Some of the hardy perennial flowering plants seem to make and root their own cuttings. In the case of many tall-growing peren- nials, such as the heleniums and boltonias, the old stalks and roots die after they bloom in the au- tumn, but a ring of underground side shoots from the parent stem start roots of their own, and in the spring make independent plants grouped in a clump. In consequence, these are among the easiest of all plants to propagate. Some weeds have the same habit, unfortunately. Worst of all is witch-grass, whose underground stems root at every joint and may send up a shoot from any joint. Cutting up such a pest merely multiplies it by cuttings. It should be carefully picked or raked from the soil and destroyed. Another method of propagating through cuttings is found in those plants which are multiplied by means of sections of roots, as in the case of common horse-radish: these are called root cuttings. One can get through any florist or seedsman bunches of horse- radish roots, which may be cut into sections three or four inches long and be carefully planted Young Geranium Plant in a Paper Flower Pot. PLANTS FROM CUTTINGS 39 either horizontally or with the lower end down. Some hardy perennial flowering plants are also propagated by root cuttings. If you will cut a few of the thick roots of a clump of Per- ennial Phlox this fall, then next spring lift the clump for division, you will find that buds have de- veloped on the cut ends of the Stem Cutting. Begonia, severed roots. If carefully planted, these will give new plants of the same varieties. A somewhat similar method of propagation by cuttings is illustrated in the case of the common potato, which is a tuber, or thickened underground branch, whose eyes are buds. When planted, each potato is commonly cut into several pieces in order that many new plants may develop from a sin- gle tuber. Each one of the parts thus cut off is a tuber cutting. Even leaf cuttings may be made in the case of several kinds of house plants. This is one of the best ways of propagat- ing certain sorts. A good example is the gloxinia, the leafstems of which root readily in water or in moist sand, while buds form on the leaf ribs. The thick leaves of many of the begonias also take root readily, and the leaves are commonly utilized for growing new plants. Early in autumn it is possible for any one to start a fine garden in-doors with Gloxinia Leaf Cutting, | Slight expense. Most of the tender plants 40 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK that make banks of brilliant color in parks and home grounds are allowed to die when frosts come. ‘The owners are glad to supply slips from them at the close of a season; so if you will secure the boxes, sand, and soil necessary for starting and growing them, you can obtain the plants them- selves free. Try cuttings from various plants which you admire; experiment in rooting the slips in water, sand, and soil. Thorough knowledge and skill will come with ex- perience. A GLORIOUS AUTUMN FLOWER On the twelfth day of February, 1735, Peter Collinson, Botanist Royal to the British Empire by appointment of King George II, wrote to John Bartram, Botanist Royal to the American Wilderness by appointment of his own kingly soul: “In the little box that the insects came in are some seeds. The China Aster is the noblest and finest plant you ever saw, of that tribe. It was sent by the Jesuits from China to France; from thence to us: it is an annual. Sow it in rich mould immediately, and when it has half a dozen leaves transplant it in the borders. It makes a glorious au- tumn flower. There are white and purple in the seeds.” Thus it is probable, as it is fitting, that the first of these noble blossoms to expand their beauty in the New World grew in the famous garden on the Schuylkill River, where the life-long labor of John Bartram, the first great flower lover in America, wrought such excellent results. It is pleasant to fancy the tender care these seeds received and the interest with which the plants were watched as the white and purple blossoms opened to make, as the good Peter had written, “a glorious autumn flower.”’ It is easy to imagine that the CHINA ASTERS 41 flowers were shown to many visitors, by whom the seed was eagerly sought for new plantings. The asters which were first grown in Europe and America between 1730 and 1740 were very different from those which are now being cultivated. For one thing, they were all single varieties, resembling in general appearance the Ox-eye Daisy. Each flower had a large yellow centre composed of tubular florets, with from two to four rows of ray florets surrounding it. In the seeds sent by Collinson to Bartram white and purple varieties were included. A red variety is said to have been obtained by Philip Miller, of Chelsea, England, in 1731, and a blue variety was also known about that time. Some twenty years later the same gardener received seeds of double varieties in red, white, and blue colors, and by the end of the eighteenth century flowers with blue and white stripes had appeared and the aster was well started on its way toward the marvellous development which has since taken place. These asters are commonly called by two general names— China Asters because they originated in China, and German Asters because the modern development of the plant was largely brought about by German florists. Professor Bailey thinks the first remarkable development was in the produc- tion of the quilled type of flower, in which the central florets were produced into quills. Varieties of this type were popu- lar about the middle of the nineteenth century, and many of them are still grown, under the name of German Quilled Asters. These blossom in hemispherical masses and occur in a great variety of colors. The most satisfactory classification of these asters is that suggested by Professor Bailey in the “Cyclopedia of Horti- culture.” The flowers are divided into two great groups, 42 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK namely, the Flat-rayed and the Quilled, each of which is sub- divided into two lesser groups. The Flat-rayed Asters in- clude a large proportion of the more important varieties. In these all, or nearly all, of the florets are flat instead of tubu- lar. In one group, these flat flor- ets are curved upward and in- ward, as in the case of the Jewel or Ball-flowered Asters; in the other group the florets are curved downward and outward, as in the beautiful Comet Asters. In the case of the Quilled Asters one type has three outer rows of flor- ets flat and reflexed, while the rest of the florets are tubular. These are the German Quilled Asters already mentioned. In the other group all the florets are tubular, as in the variety called the Victoria Needle Aster. None of the modern asters surpass the Comet type in charm and distinctive beauty, the re- curved petals of the large, soft, broadly rounded flowers sug- gesting the form of some of the more beautiful sorts of chrysanthemums. There is a great variety of coloring in these Comet flowers, the tones varying from pure white to blue and violet and red, and even pale yellow in the solid colors, with a great many intermediate striped sorts. As to size of plant these Comet Asters are divided into two types: the Giant Comets reach a height of two feet, with large China Asters. CHINA ASTERS 43 flowers upon long stems, while the Dwarf Comets are but half as high, with the flowers on shorter stems. A rather new form of the China Comet is the single-flowered one, in which the ray petals are long and slender. New varieties of these Comet types are continually being added to the florists’ lists. Aster types are not so clearly defined and wide- ly recognized by standard names as are the leading dahlia forms, so the names and descriptions of asters in the seed cat- alogues may puzzle you. For this reason your note- book sketches and de- scriptions of the best illustrations of each standard type grown in your community, accom- panied by records of the trade names of the seeds sown, will enable you to order just the sorts you prefer another spring. While studying the aster, plan to preserve seeds of the best varieties of each type. The best seed is home grown, be- cause freshest, and taken with such care in selection as is hardly possible commercially. When cutting flowers for the house, leave the earliest and best blossoms to mature. When the seeds are ripe, the flower heads should be cut and dried; then the seed should be separated, cleaned, and placed Dwarf Comet Asters. From “The Flower Beautiful.” Comet Asters in Bamboo Holder. PLANTING BULBS OUT-DOORS 45 in labelled envelopes. Every school. garden should follow plants from seed to seed for their life history. Every home gardener will find great satisfaction in this work, too, for it is by careful selection that varieties are improved. Moreover, the best double flowers usually produce seeds sparingly, so that good seed is expensive. All the surplus seed of fine quality that one produces will be highly appreciated if dis- tributed to one’s flower-loving friends as gifts, or it may serve as a basis of exchange for other seeds or for bulbs and plants with one’s neighbors. A school garden may very prop- erly be utilized to supply seeds for the home gardens of its dis- trict. But all this work should be based upon a study of the finest types of flowers, that selection of seed may be intelli- gent. PLANTING BULBS OUT-DOORS The only way to be rewarded by a beautiful show of blos- soms in early spring in the out-door garden is to plant in autumn the spring flowering bulbs. These are so inexpen- sive and so beautiful that it is not strange that they are be- coming more and more popular every year. And the fact that when once established most sorts continue to develop a new supply of bulbs for future flowering renders them all the more desirable. Fortunately, these spring flowering bulbs can be planted to advantage in a great variety of situations. Arranged in the form of beds they commonly make the most striking dis- play to be seen in spring in parks and gardens. Scattered with less formality along the edges of the border garden or beneath the shrubbery, or dotted here and there on the lawn, they often make an even more pleasing show than in the 46 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK formal garden. They will do well in almost any situation provided the soil is fairly rich and well drained, and the bulbs of each variety are planted at a uniform depth rather early in the season. For these plants are able to blossom so soon in spring because of the fact that they have gained much of their root growth the previous autumn. Consequently it is de- Fifty Bulbs of Campernelle Jonquil. sirable to be able to put the bulbs in the ground so early that there will be opportunity for a good development of roots before freezing weather. Some of the bulbs, notably the crocuses and daffodils, should be planted in September if possible, while most of the others will do very well if planted in October. In reply to the question as to what to plant, one should choose at first those sorts of spring flowering bulbs in which one most delights. If you are very fond of crocuses or snow- PLANTING BULBS OUT-DOORS 47 drops or daffodils or tulips, plant these in abundance and at the same time plant also a few bulbs of some of the flowers you are not so familiar with, and perhaps you will thus be able to extend your range of enjoyment. For a liking for flowers depends very often upon our knowledge of or our experience with them, and it is always worth while to increase one’s garden experience. The earliest of the spring flowering bulbs are the crocuses, snowdrops, and scillas, all of them low-growing plants which are desirable to put along the borders of hardy perennial gardens or the more formal beds of tulips or hyacinths. The crocuses are very desirable for planting in the lawn, especially in a sunny situation near a building or fence where they will come into blossom long before the snow disappears, thus greatly extending the period of the out-door flower gardens. All that is necessary is to make a hole with a pointed stick in the sod about three inches deep, and to push the crocus bulb right side up down into the bottom of this hole, firming the soil over it when it is thus planted. The snowdrops and scillas may well be planted in small groups to a depth of about two inches. For starting an annually recurring display of flowers no bulbs are so satisfactory as the daffodils. Of these the single Trumpet Daffodils are the best, although the Poet’s Narcissus is also well worth very general planting. These daffodils are very desirable to grow beneath shrubbery, where they will become naturalized and produce beautiful flowers. They will do better, however, if the groups of these bulbs are dug up and replanted late in summer or early in autumn about once in three years. In this way crowding is prevented and the soil may be again thoroughly fertilized. For a striking display in early spring the early single Long-stemmed Tulips. PLANTING BULBS OUT-DOORS 49 tulips are very useful. Named varieties should be selected and planted at a uniform depth of about three inches, so that all may flower at the same time. The long-stemmed late tulips are even more beautiful. These are better adapted to the border garden, where they may be left permanently. When placed in the formal flower beds the bulbs must be Bulbs of Madonna Lilies. renewed yearly, for they remain in blossom so long that there is no opportunity for them to ripen off before it is time to plant bedding plants for the summer display. The beautiful sweet-scented hyacinths are more tender than most bulbs. Named single varieties should be planted in October at a uniform depth of four inches, and in spring as the foliage has ripened off the bulbs should be taken up and stored in a cool, dry cellar until the time for planting again. As they are planted in formal beds, great care should be taken to have the rows uniform and to plant the bulbs at a uniform depth. 50 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK There is no question that nearly all of the lilies do better when planted in autumn than in spring. The Madonna Lily needs to make a leaf growth in autumn, so that its bulbs should be set out in August if possible, but most of the lilies may be planted in October very well. Nearly all of the bulbs are benefited by a winter protection which prevents the alternate freezing and thawing of the ground and keeps them from starting to blossom so early in spring. This covering, however, had better not be put on until the surface of the soil has frozen; otherwise there is danger that mice will injure the bulbs. It is also advan- tageous in that the frozen surface soil will check the de- velopment of the bud toward leaf growth, while the layer of mulch will retard deep freezing and favor the growth of strong vigorous roots that will lead to splendid flowers the follow- ing spring. THE SEPTEMBER CALENDAR In-doors Start during latter part of month cuttings of geraniums and other plants desired for window gardens. Take cuttings from plants out-of-doors. Start bulbs for early winter blooming, especially Paper-white Nar- cissus and Roman Hyacinths. Out-doors Prant lily bulbs, especially those of the Madonna Lily, as early as possible. PLANT crocuses, daffodils, and other early spring flowering bulbs this month. Tulips and hyacinths may wait until October. TRANSPLANT into three-inch pots seedlings of French Marigolds and Drummond Phlox started in August, and bury pots in the garden soil until there is danger of frost. PLANTING BULBS OUT-DOORS 51 HARVEsT vegetable crops as fast as they mature. Clean the ground after harvesting. Ir you HAVE a cold-frame sow cabbage seed in drills in the garden to start plants to winter over in the frame. PREPARE a store of soil for use in potting, gathering the necessary garden soil, leaf mould, manure from compost heap, etc. GaTHER seeds of annuals and perennials before they are lost from ripe seed-pods; clean them and store in labelled envelopes. Ho p a public exhibition of the products of school and home gardens. SEND cut flowers from the school garden and arrange them attractively in vases as a gift to the School Board at its first meeting of the school year. PRICK ovT the seedlings of pansies, English Daisies, primroses, and other half-hardy plants in the cold-frames. Lirt long-established clumps of hardy lilies which have multiplied; divide and reset the bulbs, adding manure to the soil, but keeping from contact with bulbs. OCTOBER White Cosmos. “So from the root Springs lighter thy green stalk, from thence thy leaves More airy, last thy bright consummate flower Spirits odorous breathes.” SS = , NS MW Pink Cosmos in Austrian Glass Vase. I OCTOBER COSMOS: A BEAUTIFUL ANNUAL The cosmos is one of the most satisfactory annuals for the border garden, both on account of the grace of its foliage and the beauty of its blossoms. It may be grown as easily as any of the garden vegetables, and may be used to great advantage along fences, walls, and the sides of buildings. By choosing the tall varieties to plant next to the wall or fence, and the dwarf varieties to plant in front, one may get most beautiful effects during the latter part of the season, the flowers of the dwarf forms beginning practically at the ground and extending upward for many feet with a back- ground of attractive foliage that helps in the display. | The seed of the cosmos may be started in a hot-bed, green- house, or window garden early in the season and trans- planted out of doors when danger of frost is past; or the seeds may be planted in a drill out of doors in May and the young seedlings transplanted, when they are two or three inches high, to the place where they are to grow. These seedlings are vigorous little plants with a compact root system, so that they. are very easy to transplant. Jn a rich soil and with plenty of moisture they grow with great rapidity, sending up fine, fernlike foliage which gives an attractive effect long before the flowers appear. Even the buds have a decidedly decorative value, being rounded in general outline, though flattened on the outer end and more or less enclosed by a 55 56 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK double row of long, pointed, greenish, leaf-like growths called bracts. When the flowers appear the plant becomes very con- spicuous and attractive. Three colors are commonly grown. In one the flowers are a beautiful glistening white, in another they are an exquisite pink, and in the third they are a deep red, the last-named variety being the least attractive of the three. While the ordinary varieties do not come into bloom until the autumn is well advanced, strains of the dwarfer sorts flower continuously from midsummer. These are more de- sirable for children’s gardens, although their flowers are not so rich and large as the typical sorts. ‘They may be grown in-doors. The late varieties are well adapted to the school garden, since they bloom when schools are in session, and when the flowers of many plants are disappearing. The structure of the flower of the cosmos shows at once that it belongs to the great group of composite plants. Around the base of the blossom there is a double row of long, pointed, deep-green bracts, with a more definite lighter-col- ored series above them. The chief attractiveness of the blossom is given by the petal-like ray florets, of which there are usually eight, and which are sent out in a plane at right angles to the axis of the flower. These petals are grooved in a most interesting fashion and are scalloped on the outer ends in a way that adds greatly to their decorative effect. In the petals of the pink variety, the color of which is really a light violet red, there is at the base a spot of rose color which forms a delightful bit of what the artists call a domi- nant harmony. The disk florets which form the “eye” of the flower have a general yellow color, due to the yellow petals SWEET HERBS 57 united into tiny tubes and the yellow pollen which is pushed out through the stamen tubes, the latter being brownish black. The cosmos has so great a spread of branches for the size of the stalk that the plants are easily blown down by the wind, and, in consequence, when growing in exposed situa- tions, each stalk should be tied to a stake to hold it in posi- tion. ‘This is not so necessary when they are growing in the shelter of a wall or fence, but even then it is generally desirable. For use in-doors, where they are extremely effective for ornament, these flowers require a spreading arrangement which shall simulate their manner of growth outside. Two or three sprays projecting from a slender vase and showing stems, leaves, buds, and flowers are exceedingly effective, especially if placed against a plain background, gray or gray- green in tone. A larger display in a broader flower jar may also easily be made one of the most beautiful flower arrange- ments imaginable. SWEET HERBS In the early history of America, herbs for use in flavoring food grew in every thrifty kitchen garden. Many a man can remember helping his mother gather the ripe caraway seeds in the little old-fashioned garden. How good they tasted in the cookies! Perhaps he also helped cut the fresh shoots of sage, and can recall the bunches of dried sage that hung from garret rafters beside those of wild medicinal herbs. In memory he can taste again, even now, the sage in the savory stuffing for the Thanksgiving turkey. In the corners of the farmyard clumps of catnip and tansy probably grew in abundance, and in earlier years many other herbs had been numerous. 58 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK Even in Bible times herbs were freely used. Mint, anise, and cumin are mentioned in the pages of this book. Old- time stories tell of others, such as dill and pennyroyal, which children nibbled at to while away the long hours of the church service. But to-day such herbs are little known. Some large city markets sell a few kinds fresh, and occasion- ally a limited number are grown in home gardens, but these are mainly on estates with gardeners and skilled cooks. Most of us are content with the tropical spices so cheaply supplied by commerce, while in the main the delicate flavors and the delights of the home garden of herbs are past. The school garden may restore past joys and values to home gardens, as well as serve to introduce there the best products of modern horticultural art. In 1906, one school garden showed twenty sorts of herbs at the fall exhibition of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Some of the fine cooks of the neighborhood of this school welcomed the op- portunity of purchasing fresh herbs in great variety, if not in large quantities. Some of the children started mint and sage and annual herbs at home. One boy grew sage and catnip in quantity at his summer home in the country, and realized a snug little sum retailing both fresh and dried herbs of his own production to his city neighbors.