t is well to undertake only what can be easily
handled or what can be done thoroughly. There is joy in the
contemplation of a perfect work, even though it be on a small scale,
that never comes from a more ambitious undertaking imperfectly carried
out. Better six square feet of well tilled, weedless, thrifty garden
than an acre poorly cultivated and full of weeds.

A Girl Scout who proposes to make a garden will naturally ask herself
certain questions. If she has the ground, if she knows already where her
garden is to be placed, the next thing, perhaps, that she will wish to
know is, what tools will be needed. Then follows the way to treat the
soil in order to prepare it for planting the seeds. After that comes the
question of seeds and the way to plant them. Then the cultivation of the
crops until they are ready to be gathered.

Here, then, we have material for short sections on (1) tools, (2)
preparation of the soil, (3) selection of seeds, (4) planting, and (5)
cultivation.

(1) Tools

Not many tools will be needed, but some seem to be indispensable. I
would suggest: 1. A spading fork. Some like a long-handled fork, others
prefer a short-handled one. 2. A hoe. 3. A garden or iron-toothed rake.
4. A hand weeder of some kind. 5. A shovel. In addition to these tools
every gardener will find it necessary to have a line for making straight
rows. This should be at least the length of the longest dimension of the
garden and white that it may be easily seen. There should be two pegs to
stick it in with. I should add a board about ten inches wide with
straight edges and as long as the bed is wide, and a pointed stick.

(2) The Preparation of the Seed Bed

The first thing to do, after having determined the location of your
garden, is to measure your bed. If you have a single bed, one twelve
feet long by six feet wide is enough to start with. I should prefer,
however, to have two beds, each three feet wide by twelve feet long with
a narrow path between, say, twelve inches. The reason for thus laying
out the ground in two beds is that it will be easier to reach the whole
bed from either side without stepping or kneeling on the cultivated
soil. All cultivation can be done from the paths.

_The soil_ for flower beds needs most careful preparation. The bed
should be dug out to a depth of two feet, and if the soil is clay, two
feet six inches. In the latter case, put broken stones, cinders or
gravel on the bottom for drai