The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming.

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The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming.

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and
Farming., by Ellen Eddy Shaw This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming.
Author: Ellen Eddy Shaw
Release Date: September 27, 2004 [EBook #13537]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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The Library of Work and Play GARDENING AND FARMING
BY ELLEN EDDY SHAW
1911
COPYRIGHT, 1911
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE REAL BOYS OF THIS REAL CLUB AND TO THE GIRLS WHO ARE JUST AS GOOD AS BOYS

CONTENTS

PART I--THE GARDEN CLUB

CHAPTER
I. The Garden Club
II. The Boys' Garden Difficulties
III. The Girls' Secret
IV. Garden Experiments Performed Indoors
V. The Work Shop End of the Garden
VI. What the Girls Made Winter Evenings
VII. Improving the School Grounds
VIII. Myron's Strawberry Bed
IX. Jack's All-Round Garden
X. Albert and Jay's Drainage Problem
XI. George's Cabbage Troubles
XII. Peter, Potatoes and Profit
XIII. Philip's Backyard
XIV. The Corn Contest
XV. The Girls' Secret Work
XVI. More About the Girls' Work
XVII. The Girls' Winter Work
XVIII. The Grand Wind-Up--Girls vs. Boys

PART II.--THE CHIEF'S GARDEN TALKS

CHAPTER
I. The Soil
II. Plant Food
III. Seeds
IV. The Plant Itself
V. Increasing Plants
VI. Garden Operations
VII. Common Weeds
VIII. Garden Pests
IX. Vegetable Culture
X. Flower Culture
XI. The Wild-Flower Garden
XII. Landscape Gardening
XIII. How Boys and Girls Can Make Money from Their Gardens

ILLUSTRATIONS
Dee's Garden Was a "Lovesome Thing" Frontispiece The Way The Chief Taught His Boys to Handle Tools
Jay's Tile Drain Converted a Swamp into a Garden
Philip's Backyard Made Beautiful by Annuals and Quick-growing Vines
The Bulb Story
Constant Cultivation of the Soil Saved George's Cabbages
Jack's Rake Handle as a Measuring Stick
Albert Sowing Large Seeds Singly
Elizabeth Sowing Small Seed from the Package
Myron Transplanting His Long-rooted Strawberry Plants
Katharine Transplanting Her Flowers by a Method of Lifting

PART I--THE GARDEN CLUB

I
THE GARDEN CLUB
The door opened. A gust of wind and rain literally swept five boys, wet and breathless, into the room. The man at the big oak table in front of a huge open fire looked up, smiled, and said, "Off with your duds, boys! Bar the door securely, Jay, for it's a wild night. Throw a fresh log on the fire, Albert. And all line up."
For a few moments the big cheerful room seemed full of wriggling, twisting boys as great coats were pulled off and hung up carefully on pegs at the far end of the room. It was a rule here at The Chief's home that things should always be shipshape. Then the "line up" came. This was a little ceremony the boys always went through, having dropped into it quite of their own accord. They formed a line in front of the open fire with backs to it and faces toward the man. Then they solemnly saluted in military style. At this The Chief arose, saluted, and by a wave of the hand assigned each boy to his place at the table.
This little group of boys had formed itself naturally into a club. It met with The Chief every Saturday night. He was really no chief, this big, boy-loving man who had come to spend a while in this little country village, to rest and to write. The boys had named him The Chief because, as Albert said, "He could lead any tribe and tame any savage." At this Albert always laughed for he himself had been called a savage so many times he almost believed he was one.
The boys dropped into their places. Jay, or the "Little Chief" as the boys called him, sat opposite the Big Chief at the end of the table and right in front of the fire. He was slim and tall and light of foot. He could run faster, throw farther, and play better than any other boy in the village. He always led, he never bullied, he played fair, so the other boys always followed.
Albert, Jay's brother, big and heavy and as full of mischief as he could hold, took his place at The Chief's right hand. Albert called this his place of honour although knowing full well that he was there so The Chief might have him within reach. Next to Albert came George, frank-faced and bashful, sturdy and loyal. Opposite him red-headed, stubby Peter sat always on the edge of his chair, always with a bit of a smile on his face, never talking much, always agreeing good-naturedly. Beside Peter and at The Chief's left was Jack, who wriggled constantly like a young eel.
After the boys were seated and quiet, The Chief pushed back his work, a plan of his summer's garden, leaned back