“When some of these youngsters fall by the wayside we can supply their places from the waiting list,” she said.

“There won’t be so many fall by the wayside if there is a waiting list,” prophesied her Aunt Louise who had come over to the edge of the ground to see how popular the new scheme proved to be.  “It’s human nature to want to stick if you think that some one else is waiting to take your place.”

The beds were sixteen feet long and five feet wide and a path ran all around.  This permitted every part of the bed to be reached by hand, and did away with the necessity of stepping on it.  It was decreed that all the plots were to be edged with flowers, but the workers might decide for themselves what they should be.  The planters of the first ten per cent. of the beds that showed seedlings were rewarded by being allowed the privilege of planting the vines and tall blossoming plants that were to cover the inside of the fence.

Most of the plots were given over to vegetables, even those cared for by small children, for the addition of a few extras to the family table was more to be desired than the bringing home of a bunch of flowers, but even the most provident children had the pleasure of picking the white candytuft or blue ageratum, or red and yellow dwarf nasturtiums that formed the borders.

Once a week each plot received a visit from some one qualified to instruct the young farmer and the condition of the plot was indicated on his card.  Here, too, and on the duplicate card which was filed in the schoolhouse, the child’s attendance record was kept, and also the amount of seed he used and the extent of the crop he harvested.  In this way the cost of each of the little patches was figured quite closely.  As it turned out, some of the children who were not blessed with many brothers and sisters, sold a good many dimes’ worth of vegetables in the course of the summer.

“This surely is a happy sight!” exclaimed Mr. Emerson to his wife as he passed one day and stopped to watch the children at work, some, just arrived, getting their tools from the toolhouse in one corner of the lot, others already hard at work, some hoeing, some on their knees weeding, all as contented as they were busy.

“Come in, come in,” urged Mr. Wheeler, who noticed them looking over the fence.  “Come in and see how your grandson’s pupils are progressing.”

The Emersons were eager to accept the invitation.

“Here is the plan we’ve used in laying out the beds,” explained Mr. Wheeler, showing them a copy of a Bulletin issued by the Department of Agriculture.  “Roger and I studied over it a long time and we came to the conclusion that we couldn’t better this.  This one is all vegetables, you see, and that has been chosen by most of the youngsters.  Some of the girls, though, wanted more flowers, so they have followed this one.”

[Illustration:  Plan of a vegetable     Plan of a combined
school garden           vegetable and flower school garden]

“This vegetable arrangement is the one I’ve followed at home,” said Roger, “only mine is larger.  Dicky’s garden is just this size.”