Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1884-02-25
allouth' Colnmu
WINDOW-GARDBNING IN A
SCHOOL-HOUSE.

y
ing on four sandy ridges that served |
for under pinning to the dilapidated |
old building. Warped clap-boards |
tapped from its moss-fecked sides,
where the walls had "sprung' or set
little nearer mother earth.
Not only the school-house, but its
grounds and surroundings were as
dreary as absence of all things beau
tiful could make them. A steep |
sand-bank doomed on its right hand;
at its left, an Aldar swamp stretched |
over many acres. In front, the dus-
ty country-road wound past, and in
it's rear was a sheep pasture, with
rocks and tall Mulleins that alone
broke the monotony of level sandy
plain, on which even red sorrel and
wild barley could find no footing SO
wild was its soil.
Such were the surroundings Hetty
Mason looked out upon as the ''up
river" stage dropped her one May
morning at this school-house door,
she having engaged to teach that dis
trict's summer term Of twelve weeks.
Over it's sunken threshold she
found things no less bare Of comfort
and beauty. Narrow, straight back
ed desks, hacked, worn smooth, and
hacked again by generations of chill
dren; dingy, plastered walls with
laths plainly visible in patches where
the yellowed plastering had peeled
away, and three staring windows at
right and left, as guiltless of curtains
as the warped black board was Of
paint.
"What comfortless place in
which to pen little children - Hetty
thought, glancing about the room.
81 am glad | brought that package
of flower seeds with me-" she added,
wisely nodding her head at a dirty
window, through which the hot sun
blazed on to the heads of little chill
dren in its range. "Sunlight is
blessed thing, but too much of it, es-
pecially in ones eyes, is not so bless
ed"
Hetty noticed with pleasure that
many of the pupils had wild flowers
lying on their desks. A fragrant
mass Of lilac blossoms crowned the
rusty stove, and row of mouldy
ink-bottles on her own desk was fill
ed with fresh violets and houstonias
that her little scholars had placed
there of their own accord.
$50 these little country children love
flowers as we'll as /. Won't we have
some famous window-gardens before
the term closest" and picking up her
bell and bible she called the school
to order, and after scripture reading
was soon busily engaged in organic
ing classes.
Quick to plan and quick to execute,
before week had passed Hetty and
her pupils had six little window-gar-
dens well under way.
A carpenter in the neighborhood
furnished her with a quantity of thin
boards, and of these she constructed,
with some help from the boys, six
boxes as long as the school-room
windows were wide, and eight inches
deep and foot III width These
were filled with soil, not that taken
from the school grounds, for these
knobs of red sand would have failed
to sprout even a parsley weed, but
rich loan from the woods and fine
dressing that the children brought in
baskets from their homes with enough
sand to cut the mixture.
After the boxes had been fastened
in their places on the wide window
stills. seeds of morning glory, nastur-
tiums, canary vine and sweet peas
were sown along the edges of the
boxes nearest the glass, and the re-
naming spaces were sown Will
bright, early Towering ANNALS
since the term would close before
some ANIMALS would come into flower
The children were IN such haste t.
see green things growing in thel
boxes, Hetty encouraged them il
bringing roots of wild vines from thu
woods, which were transplanted into
these window-gardens-wild myrtle
pigeon vines and tiny ferns finding
congenial home in the woodsy loan
in which they were encouraged t.
grow.
Sunlight and moisture combined
soon coaXed the seed-germs abov
ground, and as the earth cracked AM
the tender green leaves unfolde,
themselves, Hetty grew almost as in
terested as her little pupils in watch
ing the plants shoot upward, an
taught them many practical, pleas
ant botany lesson rs they gatheret
each day around those fast-greenin
window-slls.
There was such scramble eac
morning TO see who should water tn
plants, Hetty found it advisable t
assign each window TO certain pr
pills, three little gardeners to VIII
dow, since her school numbere
eighteen scholars.
A spirited but pleasant rivalr
thus sprang up among the chiIdre
as to whose window should be mo.
beautiful, and whose plants shoul
thrive the best.
A network of Irvine was formed