George, delighted, gave place to Albert, who stumblingly read.  “We girls wish to garden, too.  We’d like to join your club.  We can do just as good work as boys.  Will you take us in?”

“Not much!” went on Alfred just as if he were still reading, “Girls in our club, no siree, girls never!”

“Girls might do something,” began Myron.

“But,” Jack broke in, “they’d after all spoil a boys’ club.  Why, it wouldn’t be a boys’ club then.”

“They might have one of their own,” suggested Peter.

“And do different things,” continued Philip.

“I really don’t see,” Jay went on, “quite how we could have them.  But, I suppose, they might meet with The Chief and we could help them sometimes.”

“No,” said Albert, “we don’t wish to get mixed up with that sort of thing.  They’d run the whole club in the end.”

“That’s right,” agreed George.

This was put to vote properly and the girls were barred out.

“You must write them a letter, Albert,” concluded Jay.

“Write a letter!  A letter to those girls!  Never!”

“Yes you will; you are the secretary and you have to, understand,” said Jay.  Poor Albert, not long before so proud of his office, looked as if he’d rather be whipped than be the secretary.

“The real business to-night is to hear reports so we can do a little experimenting and testing next week,” suggested the man.

“All right, we’ll have George’s first.”

“I shall, of course,” began George, “plant my corn, Country Gentleman, in with father’s.  We have plenty of seed corn, so I shall not have to buy any.  As far as my old slope goes I have to pick all the stone off.  Then I am not sure just how to drain it, for the rains from another slope above wash it all the spring and summer.  I shall then put some barnyard manure on and plant it all to corn.  Of course, I must plough and harrow it, too.”

“Now,” said The Chief, “I guess we’d better stop right here and have a little talk, for George has brought up some problems for discussion.  In the first place—­let us consider the draining.  All George has to consider is that he has to conduct or lead the water off his land.”

“But,” said George, “that is what seems to me difficult.”

“Have you noticed how water takes definite courses down hills?  That ought to give you some help.”

“I see,” cried Jack, “George could make gutters for the rain to travel along and so lead the water off his garden.”

“Exactly, Jack has the idea.  It is really a bit of engineering.  Suppose George finds the highest point, the greatest slope, of his land.  From this point a gutter or furrow should be dug so that the water is made to flow off and away from his land.”

“How deep shall I dig the gutter?”

“Dig it about three feet deep and fill stones right into this gutter.  Two feet of stone in the gutter is about right.  Water falling on a stone mass drains off properly.  It would sink into an earth mass.  Bring a little sketch of this with you next week, George, showing where you are going to dig the drain.  Now boys, how much fertilizer do you think ought to go on this poor land of George’s?”