The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming Part 5

"This table is all right, I suppose," began Philip, "but if a fellow doesn't know quite how far apart to plant his cabbage, say, I can't see how this table helps much."

"I took it for granted," Myron answered, "that you fellows know a little about things. But if a person didn't know what you ask, Philip, I suppose this table isn't much good. Shall I call all the tables in, Chief?"

"Not at all, Myron, this is a good table so far as it goes. Next time each of you boys look up this matter. Perhaps you can work out a good scheme for such information."

"Now, Philip, we'd like to hear about your shrub money and then we'll have time to see Jack's coldframe plans, before club time is over," at which Jay settled back in his chair as if club work was a strain on a fellow after all.

"I may have one dollar to spend. I have decided to buy three shrubs. I shall plant one by itself; the two others together in a clump. I wanted forsythia, but I have finally decided on j.a.pan s...o...b..ll and Van Houtte's spirea."

"Why?" asked Albert.

"You see the forsythia shows up best against a dark background because of the bright yellow flowers. I have no good setting for such a shrub.

Then, too, it blossoms so very early in the spring, in April you know, that it seemed to me, since I must plant this spring, I'd disturb less a later flowering shrub. I chose the j.a.pan s...o...b..ll because it's less liable to have lice than some others and because it looks well all by itself on the lawn. That spirea is a specially good variety of spirea because it does well almost anywhere, and also it is very showy and the foliage is handsome all summer long. Some shrubs look scrubby after awhile."

"Where did you get all this knowledge, Philip?" asked Albert, half enviously.

"I made it my business to know. I hunted up shrubs in a catalogue, then I called on a florist, and we had a shrub talk together."

"Now, I call that getting down to real work," Jay remarked. Philip looked happy and Peter nearly tilted his chair over in his pleasure for he evidently felt the city was making good.

"Now, Jack, bring on the coldframe."

"I have my drawing right here," began Jack, spreading it out on the table while the boys crowded about. "You look at the drawing as I explain. Myron and Jay have promised to help me make it. It will be a coldframe this year; next fall I shall change it into a hotbed."

"How?" broke in Albert.

"I shall dig out the soil from the coldframe. Then I shall put in two feet of manure and cover it with four inches of soil. This spring about all I can do is to mix into the soil some well-rotted manure. I guess I shall put in about three inches in all. I guess I can explain,"

continued Jack, delighted at this opportunity to air his newly acquired knowledge. "The Chief has talked this over with me. It all depends upon what you wish to use the frame for. I want to use mine to get an early start this spring, so I make the bed rich and depend on the sun's rays mostly for heat. This, then, is a coldframe. The sloping gla.s.s frame helps you see. But next winter I hope to really get results out of this frame, so I have to supply extra heat. The layer of manure underneath gives this. I then have a hotbed. If I just wish to keep plants along, ready to force next spring, then the sun's rays would be enough for that work without the layer of heat."

"I see, thank you, and why do you say layer of heat? I should call it a layer of manure."

"Because it is heat, isn't it? And anyway real gardeners call it that.

We may as well use the right names; don't you think so, Chief?"

"Surely, Jack. It's our business to know right terms. Each line of work has its own language. Jack has done a good piece of work so far. We shall have most of our next meeting in the workshop. Jack, Myron and Jay are going to work on this frame. You other fellows will be able to make stakes and dibbers enough for the crowd."

"What is a dibber?" asked Albert.

"That is for you to look up. If you have any old rake or hoe handles bring them along for dibber making. Good-night, boys."

Off into the night they scampered--a jolly, sound lot of lads.

V

THE WORKSHOP END OF THE GARDEN

"Before we go to the workshop we might take up the methods of planting our vegetables. Then if any fellow has worked out a table, Peter, the star printer, may strike off copies for all of us," began Jay, after calling the meeting to order. "I'd be glad to hear from any of you fellows who have done anything on this matter."

All was quiet. Finally Myron arose and began to read from a paper covered with writing. "The carrot--common name of the _Daucus Carota_--a biennial, indigenous to Europe, believed by some botanists to have been derived from the common wild carrot."

"Where'd you copy that stuff? No table can be made from that! Imagine a fellow out planting carrots and reading before he sows: The carrot--a bi--bi what, biped, did you say, Myron?"

Albert chuckled away and Myron dropped into his seat saying angrily, "I tried hard, anyway. It took me a whole evening to copy just the carrot."

"I should think it might have. Has any fellow a really simple table?"

"I've worked at it," Peter replied modestly. "I think I have something here that will really be of use." At this Peter spread out on the big table a neat piece of work.

PETER'S OUTDOOR PLANTING TABLE

NAME DEPTH TO DISTANCE APART PLANT SEEDS FURROWS Bean (Bush) 2 in. 12-20 in. 3 ft.

Beet 1-1/2 in. 4-9 in. 12-15 in.

Cabbage 1/2 in. 20-24 in. 3 ft.

Corn 1-1/2 in. 3 ft. 3-4 ft. (hills) Lettuce 1/2 in. 6-8 in. 12-18 in.

Musk melon 1 in. 4-6 ft. 4-6 ft. (hills) Onion 1/2 in. 4-12 in. 10-12 in.

Parsley 1/2 in. 6 in. 1 ft.

Pepper 1/2 in. 18 in. 2 ft.

Potato 5 in. 12-18 in. 24-36 in. (hills) Pumpkin 1-1/2 in. 8-10 ft. 8-10 ft. (hills) Radish 1/2 in. 3 in. 6-8 in.

Tomato 1/2-1 in. 3 ft. 3 ft. (hills) Turnip 1/2 in. 6 in. 12 in.

"That's all right," and The Chief laid a hand on Peter's shoulder and he smiled across at Myron.

"Each one of you boys ought to know how to make a working plan of his garden. I showed Jack how to make his coldframe plan. It is well done.

Now gather about the table and I will make a plan of a supposed garden."

[Ill.u.s.tration:

DRAWING I DRAWING II

DRAWING III DRAWING IV

This very simple plan of a garden, used by The Chief, has in it the essentials for all your garden plan drawing. Follow each step as the boys did and you will be able to make a drawing of your own garden.]

"I will lend you mine and you might make a drawing of that," craftily suggested Albert.

"No, young man, you are to make your own. Let us suppose for the sake of an easy problem that we claim our garden is to be on a square piece of land, forty feet by forty feet. In drawing to a scale, one takes a certain small measure to stand for a foot. If we take an inch to be a foot, then the entire forty-foot length would have to be forty inches.

That is a pretty good large drawing. Let us take something smaller and say one-eighth of an inch equals a foot, thus 1/8 in. = 1 ft. So we shall have a length and a width of five inches.

"The first step in the actual drawing is to find the centre of your given piece of drawing paper. See, I just make short lines or portions of diagonals through the centre as shown right here in what I call Drawing I. Draw a vertical line through the centre extending to the top and the bottom of the paper. Now draw a horizontal line through the centre to the extreme left and right of the sheet. Now measure up from the centre on the vertical line the half width of the garden. If the centre is to stand for the centre of the garden, then the garden itself would extend up, down, and to the right and left of its centre, just 20 ft. or 2-1/2 in. in a plan with scale 1/8 in. to 1 ft. So measure up from the centre along the vertical line just two and one-half inches and place a dot. Letter this dot A. Do this same thing down the vertical line and we have dot B. Also measure the same distance along the horizontal to left, calling the dot D and along the right calling the last dot C. Now draw a horizontal line 5 in. long through A with 2-1/2 in. either side of the dot. This gives you one side of your garden or a 40-ft. length. Do a similar thing through dot B. Through C and D draw similar lines. We now have the outline of our garden of 40 ft. square.

We have on our paper, though, a square 5 x 5 in.

"I have decided to have a circular bed in the centre of the garden which shall be 10 ft. in diameter. Therefore, the radius of the circle should be 5 ft. or 5/8 in. Get a pair of compa.s.ses for that, Jack. Now I shall swing the circle. But I wish a 2-ft. path all about this circular garden. If the path is 2 ft., then I must set my compa.s.ses on 2/8 in.

more or now make the 5/8 in. into 7/8 in. Let us swing another circle with the same point as a centre.

"It strikes me that if I should lay my garden out into four squares, the combination of squares, central circles and straight main paths would look incongruous. So I shall cut the central points of the four square beds off by swinging circles. Have patience and you will see, for the general plan is in my mind just as it ought to be in the mind of any person who is to make a garden. Now swing another circle with a radius of 1 in., and still another the radius of which shall be 1-1/8 in.