Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-05
A Little Journey.
BY Olga Green.

By Olga Green.
Grandfather put his hoe ever his shoulder
so he could take Cathie's hand. Don skip
ped along beside him. down the gravel walk.
Il hope there will be no worms when we
dig" said Cathie.
Il hope there wiil!' cried Don.
You are as blind as an earthworm II you
can't see that the garden Is just full OF
them" said grandfather.
You mean blind as bat, don't you,
grandfather And Cathie gazed anxiously
at the bath and flower beds.
''EarthWorms have no eyes" explained
grandfather, land so they are binder than
bats. Look carefully at the walk and the
dried mud there and tell me what you see
Not sign of a living thing" declared
Don, minute later. But the ground looks
something like one of those maze puzzles
with lines running in all directions.
Those lines were made by the worms
crawling around at night" explained grand
father. III there were no earthworms In
the garden l should not care to plant any
flowers"
How FUNNY cried the children together.
and Cathie added: "Why, they will eat up
the roots of the flowers"
No" answered grandfather, they are
very economical feeders. They usually dine
on earth, decayed flowers, leaf and flower
stalks, and dead or decayed leaves but
they are fond of some kinds OF fresh leaves:
sugar, licorice, raw and roasted meat, ana
most of all, raw fat. The small pebbles
they swallow grind their food. Inside their
long bodies Is a. fluid, something like the
fluid with which boys and girls digest their
food.
but the earthworm has not such Won
derful interior human being has; this
fluid mixes with the earth and leaves ana
other things 1t eats. so that when the worm
has no further use for the food he deposits
It, mixed with this fluid, on the ground
This deposit mikes with the earth ana
forms a valuable help to the gardener;
hi ia
food and thrive on II. :
How can we tell 1t from real earth.
grandfather"
1T is generally observation-disclosures
blackish: 1t looks like very finely sifted
dark earth. The great scientist. Darwin,
considered this mould important enough to
write whole book about it.
"Hum!' coughed grandfather, as he turn
ed up the earth with his hoe. This is good
rich SOIL see how dark it is? We shall
not need to add any black soil to this: 1t
IS so rich it needs a little fine sand mixed
with it. If it were sandy looking l would
tell you it needed some of the vegetable
mould"
"Oh. grandfather, I know how to plant
the mignonette in straight Inc, crled
Cathie. You tie q broken clothes pin 70
each end OF Don's old fish line and stretch
1t tight so that 1t rules straight line.
This Is the way Don handed her his
pins Then she put pin in the ground at
one end and tightly stretched the string
the whole length of the bed putting the
other pin In the opposite end. Thats my
ruler" she said.
"Brayo!" cried grandfather. Now dig
little trench along your ruled line about
three inches deep; then will drop the
seeds in about three inches apart, ana
cover them with two inches of the finest
earth When tiny plants spring up we Will
cover them up to their necks, but we DO
not want to burden baby seeds with too
heavy a covering.
hall IA Eytra X
ed Don.
You VIII have to stretch some chicken
wire or brush at the back of the bed for
them to climb on" said grandfather:
PLANT them Just the same as the mig
nonette
Cathie looked over the packages of seed
In her pocket I'VE have sweet alyssium.
nasturtiums, peoples, pansy. verbena and
phlox."
Peoples grow TALL" said grandfather.
'sWhy not put them at the back to I'LL out
the other half of the sweet pea line? Pansy
and phlox would better be planted away
off to one end because they will grow bet
ter If transplanted. Make one end of this
bed cradle for these babies which you
can plant an inch apart. When they sprout
up they can be carefully transplanted TO
whatever part of the bed you wish
Cover the seeds carefully with the earth
and pat down gently but firmly Then
water thoroughly. Do not soak them
Sprinkle with your hand. I wonder If you
know what is the most necessary thing
to have In making a garden?"
Seeds" promptly answered Don.
"Yes-and patience" added grandfather.
What Is IN your gardenf