The San Francisco call., 1910-07-03

why" / asked, lis this above the
ground?"
He smiled and said, "This is my
sprouting bed for lettuce. Should
leave 1t on the ground the young plants
would be ruined by snails and slugs"
But what do you do when you trans
plant them?" ] persisted, pointing to
his splendid heads. of lettuce in their
well shaped beds ready for gathering
Surely these are great temptations for
the snails."
when the young lettuce is trans
planted" he answered, II put a row Of
lime around the whole bed. The plants
are never molested then
He manages his crop of lettuce on
the college plan-his freshmen are en-
tering the sprouting box while his
sophomores are emerging from 1t. His
juniors at this time are becoming
"heady' in the open rows, while his Sc
niors are developed and ready for mar
ket With this arrangement his Gus
toners may find lettuce on hand at any
time Of the year. Y ou can see by this
that the boy has an understanding OF
his work. He recognizes at sight the
different varieties of lettuce, and can
discuss the relative values of the May
King" and the Improved Hanson" from
a bridesmaids point of view.
This year he has marketed 100 pounds
of peas. AS soon as the old pea vines
could be removed the ground was i'm
mediately planted to beans. Remember,
his garden plot Is but rs by rs feet, and
he must practice economy of space.
With the beans he is raising but one
kind, "The Kentucky Wonders" He is
familiar with other varieties, but his
experience has led him to believe these
to be the very best.
Every morning this boy is up by s.
o'clock and out in his garden. On the
particular morning I saw him he had
returned from delivering 55 heads of
the finest lettuce could buy any
where. Perhaps one of the secrets of
his success is quality and fair prices"
Aside from the abundant good health
and the joy OF living this garden is CIV
ing TO this boy a practical education in
business methods.
He keeps his accounts as well as the
best paid book keeper in large busi-
ness firm. Many of his customers run
monthly bills. When his produce is de-
livered he makes out a charge tag and
places 1t on file. At the end of the
month these accounts are made into
bills and presented for payment When
paid they are receipted and an entry is
made of the same in his account book.
Should customer pay cash he puts
tag he terms bank, on file. showing
the money has been placed in his small
First national bank. At the end of the
placed to his account in an Oakland
bank.
A tabulated record has been made of
his exact income each month since
1907. This has proved an incentive. If
in June 1907, he made Sc, then he feels
that in June, 1908, he must make more
than Sc, else he is not succeeding in
terms of his own advancement.
His tabulated account for the three
years is full of interest, each month
showing an increase over the month
of the preceding year, with one no
ticeable exception, when nothing was
made That was the month he was
quarantined with scarlet fever.
This boy is not going to spend his
well earned money carelessly. He is
planning to invest It, He expects in
time to pay for a lot with this money.
coming as 1t does to him from the soil.
Another thing, to my knowledge he
Is the first child to have commercial
account in bank. When his parents re-
quested that such an account be opened
to him they were told that commercial
accounts to children had never been
granted. Many people question the ad-
visibility OF allowing children access
to funds by check. However, this boys
father desired that his son should be-
come familiar with practical business
methods, and on special request a COM
mercial account was opened to him.
Now. this boy selects and buys his
own clothes, paying for them by check
from the allowance his father has
placed in bank for him. 1t can be seen
that this boy is making a success of his
undertaking. He works not because he
must, nor alone for the money that is
in it, but because by 1t and through it
he has gained and is gaining so much
that is good to have-health. training,
education, success.
How many readers OF The Junior Call
have a garden? If not, why? .
When 1t Is seen what this small gar
den has done in so short time for the
frail little fellow of few years ago,
is IT not worth while?
"a