bages, and many a nice plant was gnawed off close to the
ground, dropping over and wilting away until it died. The cut worms came
up out of the ground and ate the tiny cabbage stalks close to the earth.

"We shall have to put collars on the cabbage plants," said Daddy Blake, as
he looked at some which were killed.

"Put collars on cabbages--how?" asked Mab.

"I'll show you," said her father.

He took some tough paper and made a sort of hollow tube around the stalk
of each cabbage plant, tying the paper with string. One end was shoved
down in the ground, the other being close up around the lowest cabbage
leaves, until it did look as though the plant had on a high, stiff collar.

"The worms can't bite through the paper--or at least they hardly ever
do," said Daddy Blake, "and after a while the cabbage stalk will get so
strong that the worms can not do it any damage."

By this time many things were growing in the Blake garden. The tomato
plants had been set out, and for the first day or so had been kept covered
with pieces of paper so the strong sun would not wilt them. They had been
used to living in the house, where they started to grow, and transplanting
made them tender. But soon they took root in their new soil and began to
grow very fast.

Hal and Mab hoed and raked their gardens. When it did not rain they
watered their corn and beans, and they were anxious for the time to come
when they could really eat some of the things they had grown. Daddy Blake
said Mab's beans might be ready to pick green, so they could be boiled, in
about six weeks, but Hal's corn would not be ready for ten weeks. Then the
ears would be filled out enough so they could be boiled and eaten with
salt and butter. Corn grows more slowly than beans.

"When will we have anything to eat from our garden?" asked Mother Blake
one day, when the Summer sun had been beaming down on the green things for
a week.

"Well, we'll see," said her husband. "Come with me, Hal and Mab. I'll take
you to the garden and we'll see what we can find."

"My beans aren't ready yet," said Mab.

"And there are only little, teeny ears of corn on the stalks in my
garden," Hal said.

"We'll see," said Daddy Blake.

He led the children to a plot of earth he himself had planted. Hal and Mab
saw some dark green leaves in long rows.

"Pull up some of them," directed Daddy Blake.

Hal did so. On the end of the leaves, growing down in the ground, was
something round a