Katharine.

"I should so like to try it," broke in Dee.

"Now, girls, I believe you'd better pick up your new plants and scamper.
We certainly have done a good afternoon's work. The chief things to try
for in indoor plant culture are cleanliness of the plant, proper
drainage, and freedom from abrupt changes in temperature and draughts.
Good-by, girls. We meet again soon at our exhibits."

"Good-by, and thank you so much," cried the girls in chorus.

XVIII

THE GRAND WIND-UP--GIRLS VS. BOYS

One day in late September the Boys' Garden Club received an invitation
to Katharine's house for four o'clock the following Saturday.

Never were boys more astonished than these as they were ushered into the
girls' garden.

"Well," Albert said quite frankly, "you have beaten us as far as beauty
goes. You try vegetables next summer, and we fellows will race you."

"Thank you!" answered Dee, "You are very kind to us, very! You may
possibly have noticed those beautiful window boxes at the Inn. Eloise
made those herself, stocked the boxes, and has cared for them, too.
Elizabeth's borders have grown as well, I should say, as Jack's flowers.
Peter will tell you of our sundial. Helena has a beautiful garden. To be
sure Leston has helped her but only because he wanted to so badly. Girls
are not such bad gardeners, are they?"

"Not bad?" shouted the boys, "you are wonders!"

"Every fellow here give three cheers for the girls," commanded Jay.
This was done with a hearty good will.

A week later the girls received an invitation to attend the boys' fall
exhibit, held at The Chief's house. Early that morning the boys had gone
to the woods to gather autumn boughs. The walls were a blaze of
bright-coloured leaves. About the room were placed tables upon which the
boys' products were exhibited. Fathers and mothers had come to the
exhibit; in fact, the whole village had turned out.

The prize went to Peter, for he had made the most money out of his
garden.

Just a word from a talk given by The Chief about the arrangement of
exhibits and matters in general. He said, "There are as many ways to
prepare vegetables and flowers for an exhibit as there are boys and
girls to exhibit. It is not enough to bring the articles to be
exhibited. The real art of showing one's things comes in artistic and
attractive arrangement.

"Vegetables should be thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned. Dirt clinging to
the roots needs sometimes a brush to get i