The question which naturally arose was, "How may this water be gotten rid of?" A short talk on drainage solved this problem. The children decided that ditches, ten feet apart, should be dug crosswise in the garden. They were dug, and, as the weather was favorable, in a week's time the soil was in condition to be worked.
Meanwhile interest did not flag, though it was impossible to accomplish any outside work. Writing letters to an imaginary hardware dealer, stating what tools we needed and inquiring the price, became an all-absorbing exercise. Next, we turned dealers ourselves and rendered itemized bills and receipts to purchasers of garden materials. In this way two forms of letter-writing were taught and the children derived both pleasure and profit from the work.
In the construction period were made the labels they would need when the planting-time came. These were cut from small pieces of wood with penknives and marked ready for use.
A plan by which to landscape this same plat had been drawn the year before by the supervisor of our city school gardens. This plan suggested a talk on landscape gardening and intense interest was at once aroused. The talk developed such questions as these:—
"Is the plan before us a good one?"
"Can we improve on it?"
"Is there any waste space which we should utilize?"
"Is the plan artistic in its arrangement?"
"Suppose we work out some plans to see what is possible."
A lesson such as this followed:—