GARDEN WORK
The pupils in Form I cannot be expected to do heavy work, such as spading plots or making paths. In some cases the larger boys will undertake to line out the walks and do the spading or digging. Sometimes it may be best to engage a man to do the spading. In any case the boys and girls should do the measuring and marking out of the plots. If stable manure is used in fertilizing the plots, it must be well rotted and then carefully spaded into the plots. The rest of the work should be done by the pupils themselves under the direction of the teacher. This work will include the levelling of the plots with hoes and rakes, and the trimming of the edges to the exact size of the plots, as determined by a string drawn taut about the four corner pickets. If the pupils in this Form have individual plots, each pupil will mark out his drills, put in the seeds, and cover them. The teacher may give demonstrations in connection with the work but should not do the work for the pupils.
The teacher must use his own judgment as to what seeds to allow the pupils to plant. One variety of vegetable and one of flowers is sufficient for Form I pupils, and it is desirable that large seeds be chosen for them and such as are pretty sure to grow under ordinary circumstances. Beans, beets, radishes, or lettuces are suitable as vegetables, and nasturtiums, balsams, or four-o'clocks as flowers. These seeds should be planted at least an inch apart in the drill and the drills, twelve to fifteen inches apart. Large seeds may have an inch of soil over them and smaller seeds much less. Unless the soil is very dry, watering should not be allowed, and in any case it is better to water the plot thoroughly the day before planting the seed instead of after, as is commonly done. The pupils must not allow a crust to form over the plot either before the seeds come up or after. Claw-hand weeders are convenient for loosening the soil close to the plants, and small-sized garden rakes can be used between the rows as soon as the seedlings appear. It is always better to cultivate before the weeds get a start, and thus prevent their growth. Usually the young plants will be too thick in the row, so that thinning should be begun when the plants are about two inches high. The edges of the plots should be kept straight and the paths clean and level. Each plot should have a wooden label bearing the owner's name or number and Form. The teacher is referred to Circular 13 of the Ontario Department of Education, Elementary Agriculture and Horticulture, for lists of seeds, tools, etc.