The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming Part 8

The measurements are easy since the scale is one-half inch. That is, as you measure the line in the working plan you allow one whole inch for every one-half inch you measure on that. So, if a line measures three and one-half inches, make the line for your box seven inches. This is the real height of the box. Notice some lines have their real measures given at the side.

Directions for making are as follows:

Fold a piece of paper large enough for one of the sides and sketch one-half the outline on one of the folds. Cut to line and then draw the other half. This will give perfect balance. Cut two pieces of wood from this pattern by placing it on the wood and tracing.

[Ill.u.s.tration: From the ruler you can read off the exact size of the jardiniere]

Draw a line parallel to each side 3/8 inch in on the pattern for a new pattern for the other two sides. These sides will need to be 3/4 inch narrower, 3/8 inch on each side, as they must fit between the other two sides. If wood of different thickness is used it will be double the thickness.

Use a coping saw to cut out the base. The tapering sides may be cut to lines by saw, plane or chisel. The curve at the base may be bored by 1/2-inch auger, and in this way a better curve may be had.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Helena used a scale of 1/2 inch in the construction of this jardiniere So the plan is very easy to work from]

Use 1-1/4-inch brads or finishing nails. A little glue added will make a firmer box. A much larger box after the same pattern will make a beautiful holder for a larger plant or shrub, using, of course, thicker wood.

Two small cleats should be nailed and glued from the inside to support a bottom. The bottom will give better service if it does not entirely fill the s.p.a.ce. Let it be the proper length but allow a s.p.a.ce of an inch on both sides for dirt and leaves to fall through and out.

Chestnut was the wood Helena used. It was stained and later waxed and polished. A beautiful permanent brown stain may be had on chestnut or white oak by applying strong ammonia to it with a brush and later sandpapering down and waxing. White wood is another good wood to use, but a stain will have to be applied to white wood, as ammonia will not act on it. A strong solution of permanganate of potash put on with a brush will darken any wood; it has no fumes.

VII

IMPROVING THE SCHOOL GROUNDS

During the first days of early spring The Chief and his boy a.s.sistants looked over the school grounds to see what should be done for its improvement.

The school was situated on a triangular piece of land right in the fork of two roads. The land was elevated; so much so that the building stood on a real slope; it was practically a road bank. This slope was washed by spring rains leaving large rocks exposed to view. The country road was especially poor at this section. There were deep gullies in it; the gutters were full of leaves and rock. About the school building was a comparatively level spot covered with rock. No trees grew here; a little gra.s.s struggled up each year, soon to lose heart and die.

"It seems to me," said Albert thrusting his hands deep down into his pockets, "that we have our life work here."

"Not at all," announced The Chief, "this is just the sort of thing which confronts most country schools."

Sitting on a rock The Chief gathered his clan in solemn conclave. At the close of the conference Jay marched into the schoolhouse and wrote the following headings on the board:

I. Constructing a wall to form an embankment.

II. Cleaning the grounds and making a lawn.

III. Planting of trees.

IV. Preparation and planting of the flower garden.

V. Cleaning and mending the road.

These headings represented the general lines of work the conclave had decided were the right ones, the most pressing ones to begin on.

First all the stones were picked up. The smaller boys and girls made little heaps of the small stones, while the larger rocks, requiring strength to move, were left to the older boys and girls. To some rocks the boys were obliged to take the pickaxe and crowbar. These were rolled, dragged and carted to the gutter at the bottom of the bank.

A sand bank of this description where the wash is great always needs an embankment of some sort to hold the soil in place. So the boys built a stone wall. They made this wall of the stones picked from the grounds.

First the height was decided on. This was to be two feet. They drove stakes, one at the beginning, and so on for every five feet of extent.

After leveling, two inches was measured from top of each stake down and a cord was strung along from stake to stake. Previously, to be sure that the stakes were at the same level, one of the boys, squatting down on the ground so that his eye was on a level with the stake nearest him, looked or "sighted" along the stakes. Where one stake seemed to rise up above the others it was hammered down a little to fall into line. Thus a straight line or top level for the wall was obtained. The wall itself was not difficult to build. It meant only the selection of stones and firming them into place.

Close to the wall there was a strip of level land; then the slope arose from this quite gently. After the stones were picked off the boys raked the ground all over fine, free from lumps and small stones.

One evening in the village store George's father offered to plough and harrow the entire grounds if Jack's father would give the gra.s.s seed.

The bargain was sealed. But after all, this sandy soil was no sort of soil to plant gra.s.s seed in. The father of one of the girls gave to the school a few loads of good soil. This was spread over the slope to a depth of about a foot. Again they raked it all over smooth, filling in and making as pleasing a grade as possible.

The Chief told them it would have been far better if they could have had two feet of good soil. Gra.s.s needs all of that. Another way to have improved the soil conditions would have been to plant corn or potatoes on this ground for one year. With such a crop the boys and girls would have been constantly working it, stirring it up. This improves soil.

After the soil was spread the next thing was to make it firm. This was done in three ways. One day the teacher decided that for gymnastic work they might all turn out and tramp the soil. Up the bank they stamped, then down by the old drive to the road again, and up the bank.

Another way was by using tamping sticks. The boys made these sticks from old broom handles, to the ends of which they fitted solid pieces of board about ten inches square. Some were merely nailed upon the ends of the broom handle; but this method was insecure. The others were made with holes in the centre of the boards of the same diameter as the handles. These sticks were used to tamp the soil or spank it down. But on the day when an old farmer, stopping to watch the work, offered his roller, there was great rejoicing. Between cla.s.ses, during recesses and at any odd time the slope was rolled. One boy in the very beginning pushed the roller but not after that, for when it was explained to him he understood why he should pull the roller. First, because pulled there are no foot prints left; and secondly, one slips and makes bad places on the lawn when pushing.

Next came the seed sowing. The allowance of seed was one quart to each 300 square feet. Jack's father chuckled when his son refused absolutely the variety he offered him. "No, sir, I do not wish Kentucky Blue Gra.s.s.

It takes three years to get good results from it. The results are all right."

"Thanks," murmured the highly entertained father.

"We can't wait three years, we must have speedy results. I wish a recleaned mixture, and no chaff in it."

"Very well, young man, I wish to know two things: First, where did you get your knowledge? And second, where does my pay come in?"

"The Chief told me what book to read to understand about lawns. As for the pay, you made your bargain with George's father. Anyway I should think it would be pay enough to see a fine lawn in a public place made from your gra.s.s seed."

"Right you are, young man. Go on, read and read. But remember to work as well."

They chose a rather cloudy day for the planting, and a day when the wind did not blow. Gra.s.s seed is so fine it will blow all about if the wind is stirring. Gra.s.s seed is sown broadcast, that is, scattered by the hand. It is not sown in drills.

It was a pleasure to watch the sowing, for it was done right. First, the sowing hand was held low, the person stooping down. Some seed was taken with the fingers. Then the sowing arm was swung freely in a semi-circle.

After going over the ground once, a second sowing was made at right angles to the first. A second relay of boys and girls came out and raked the sown ground all over. A third relay then rolled the ground. Do you see that there was little opportunity then for the seed being blown off the surface of the ground?

The children were delighted when a gentle rain, followed by several warm days came right after the sowing. A soaking rain or a series of cold damp days might have spoiled the work. The only way to have a good lawn from a poor piece of land is to do a thorough piece of work. Patching up means constant patching.

The paths and driveway to the school were just rock ma.s.ses. The first thing was to clear out all the rock. Then loads of ashes were brought from the houses of the different children. All the parents were glad to get rid of the ash-dumps in the backyards. All kinds of carts were brought into use. For a week no boy dared appear without a load of ashes.

All these ashes were dumped into the drive and paths. Then the whole ash layer was rolled and rolled. It finally made a good solid kind of walk.

It was the business of the tree-planting committee to have two saplings ready by Arbor Day and to know themselves just how to plant. In the start of this work, committees had been formed. Now these committees were supposed to know exactly how to do the work and to procure the necessary material for it. It was not the duty of the committee to do all the work; by no means, or the others would not have known how to work.

Two trees were to be planted, one little maple near the building; another, a b.u.t.tonball tree, down on the lower grade. A maple was chosen because it was easy to get from the woods and also because the maple is such a good all-round tree. Then later, because of a cold wind exposure on one side of the schoolhouse it was decided to plant a screen of little poplar trees. This was to shut off an unsightly view which could not be remedied in any other way.

One of the girls on the tree committee suggested a poplar in place of the maple. She was voted down. Now if quick results had been wished, of course the poplar would have been the tree to have chosen. That was why the poplars were chosen for screening purposes. But for permanence the maple, the oak, the b.u.t.tonball are all better. The poplar shoots up quickly, to be sure, but again it sheds its leaves early in the season.

Its life is not as long as the oak's. There are more reasons, too. But if you must have quick results, here is a trick. Plant first a poplar then a maple or some other tree and so on. Later the poplars may be cut out and you have left the fine st.u.r.dy, long-lived trees. At the same time the poplars have tided over that in-between period. We sometimes weary of waiting for an oak to grow sizable.

The tree planting was left until May because of the state Arbor Day. The maple and b.u.t.tonball or plane-tree were dug up by the boys in the woods the morning of Arbor Day. The trees were chosen from a rather open part of the wood. It is better to choose trees from the open places than from the denser woods. Trees thus selected are far more likely to grow on being transplanted into a place similar to that from which they came.

The boys chose trees about five feet tall. The smaller the tree the better. The following directions were the ones agreed upon:

(1) Dig a hole large enough and deep enough to accommodate the roots without cramping. Allow so that the tree shall sit one inch lower than it did before.

(2) Place the topsoil on one side of the hole; on the other the poorer subsoil. If the topsoil is very poor, get some good, rich, black soil.