|Stock | May | June-July | |Sunflower | April | July-September | +--------------+-------------+--------------------+

Ethel and Dee set up a sundial in Ethel’s own backyard.  The directions that follow will help other girls and boys in setting up theirs.  Sun-time and clock-time are not quite the same.  There are four days in the year when, if you work out the sun-shadow time, your dial will be almost accurate.  This is because on these days the sun-time and the clock-time practically coincide.  These dates are April 15th, June 15th, September 1st, and December 24th.

Before you go outdoors draw on the platform of the sundial a straight line from angle B of the gnomon to the front edge of the platform.

Set the dial out in direct sunlight.  The shadow cast must fall right on the straight line which you previously drew.  When the shadow and the line coincide, mark the extreme end of the line XII.  This stands for twelve o’clock.  Now screw the sundial in this position to the column you have made for it to rest upon.  At one o’clock mark where the shadow points, and keep on with this for every hour.

You remember the gnomon angle was the number of degrees corresponding to the degrees in latitude of your special place.  Poughkeepsie boys and girls will be interested to know that if a sundial be brought to them from Rome, it will be right for them.  And if New York City boys and girls could get one from Florence, they would find it accurate for their own use.  These girls lived near Poughkeepsie.

Elizabeth planted a border of nasturtium, sunflower and zinnia along her sidewalk.  It cost eight cents for seed to plant these two by ten feet strips.

Helena made a bed of different kinds of flowers right back of her father’s field.  The garden was thirteen and one-half feet square.  The edges her father helped her sod, this making a terrace effect.  Nine little flower beds were marked off with paths between.  In the beds were asters, celosia, balsam, nasturtiums, marigold, zinnia, carnation, schizanthus, sweet peas, dahlias, gladiolus, candytuft, lilies, scabiosa, stocks, salvia, snapdragon, phlox, mignonette, four o’clocks and petunias.  Helena’s mother worked with her in the garden as did one of the boys across the street.  He was not a club member but was hoping to be one the next year.  And so Leston worked with Helena all summer long.  He finally won his place in The Chief’s club.

Eloise decided she would have a window garden and so before all the front windows of the inn, window boxes were placed.

Most of the trouble with the window box is a lack of drainage space.  Estimate off the bottom of the box something like this:  To every foot bore six holes.  This is none too much.  The great trouble usually is lack of drainage, or lack of air, or sour soil.  Over each drainage hole put a bit of broken pot.  Then it is well to put a half-inch of drainage material in the box.  Stone, broken pot, sphagnum moss, or hay will do for this.  The soil should be good, rich, garden soil.  With this one might mix in some sand to help drainage.  Window boxes should be watered with care; they should not be flooded.