hunted up shrubs in a catalogue, then
I called on a florist, and we had a shrub talk together."

"Now, I call that getting down to real work," Jay remarked. Philip
looked happy and Peter nearly tilted his chair over in his pleasure for
he evidently felt the city was making good.

"Now, Jack, bring on the coldframe."

"I have my drawing right here," began Jack, spreading it out on the
table while the boys crowded about. "You look at the drawing as I
explain. Myron and Jay have promised to help me make it. It will be a
coldframe this year; next fall I shall change it into a hotbed."

"How?" broke in Albert.

"I shall dig out the soil from the coldframe. Then I shall put in two
feet of manure and cover it with four inches of soil. This spring about
all I can do is to mix into the soil some well-rotted manure. I guess I
shall put in about three inches in all. I guess I can explain,"
continued Jack, delighted at this opportunity to air his newly acquired
knowledge. "The Chief has talked this over with me. It all depends upon
what you wish to use the frame for. I want to use mine to get an early
start this spring, so I make the bed rich and depend on the sun's rays
mostly for heat. This, then, is a coldframe. The sloping glass frame
helps you see. But next winter I hope to really get results out of this
frame, so I have to supply extra heat. The layer of manure underneath
gives this. I then have a hotbed. If I just wish to keep plants along,
ready to force next spring, then the sun's rays would be enough for that
work without the layer of heat."

"I see, thank you, and why do you say layer of heat? I should call it a
layer of manure."

"Because it is heat, isn't it? And anyway real gardeners call it that.
We may as well use the right names; don't you think so, Chief?"

"Surely, Jack. It's our business to know right terms. Each line of work
has its own language. Jack has done a good piece of work so far. We
shall have most of our next meeting in the workshop. Jack, Myron and Jay
are going to work on this frame. You other fellows will be able to make
stakes and dibbers enough for the crowd."

"What is a dibber?" asked Albert.

"That is for you to look up. If you have any old rake or hoe handles
bring them along for dibber making. Good-night, boys."

Off into the night they scampered--a jolly, sound lot of lads.

V

THE WORKSHOP END OF THE GARDEN

"Before we go to the workshop we might take up the metho