CXXX

CROQUET

Draw a diagram of a croquet ground.

Conversation:

Discuss the game, referring to the drawing; tell about the wickets, the balls, the mallets, croqueting, who wins.

Written Exercise:

Write on the blackboard rules for the game. Write a letter, describing the last game of croquet that you played or witnessed.

CXXXI

GOD'S MIRACLE OF MAY

Pictures in Words

Read and study: —

There came a message to the vine,

A whisper to the tree;

The bluebird saw the secret sign

And merrily sang he!

And like a silver string the brook

Trembled with music sweet-
Enchanting notes in every nook
For echo to repeat.

A magic touch transformed the fields,
Greener each hour they grew,

Until they shone like burnished shields
All jeweled o'er with dew.

Scattered upon the forest floor,

A million bits of bloom

Breathed fragrance forth thro' morning's door
Into the day's bright room.

Then inch by inch the vine confessed

The secret it had heard,

And in the leaves the azure breast
Sang the delightful word:

Glad flowers upsprang amid the grass
And flung their banners gay,
And suddenly it came to pass —
God's Miracle of May!

- FRANK DEMPSTER SHERMAN.

By permission of Houghton, Mifflin and Company.

The poem presents a series of pictures. Try to see them all.

Here are a few suggestive questions. Answer them and ask others.

What was the message? Who brought it?
Why was it whispered to the tree?

secret sign?

Why did the brook tremble?

Why a

Did you ever see a 'brook like a silver string? Where? What made it so?

Stanza II:

What was the magic touch?

What does jeweled o'er with dew mean?

What is the morning's door?

Stanza III:

Does this stanza answer the questions asked above? What was the secret?

How did the vine confess it?

How did the flowers show their joy?

What is a miracle?

Is May a miracle ?

CXXXII

SCHOOL GARDENS

Around nearly every schoolhouse there is some land which may be utilized for a school garden. If there is not room enough on the school ground, doubtless you can obtain permission to use a vacant lot near the school. You will find on page 275 a picture of some school children who are working in their gardens; on page 274 are two plans of children's gardens.

(1)

The School Garden

If you can, make a garden together in your schoolyard. If you cannot do this, some of you perhaps can make gardens at home. You can at least have a box in a window. Watch your garden carefully. Take notes and talk them over in the class. The following outline will suggest some of the things to watch for and to talk and write about.

1. Preparation of the beds.

Tell how the soil was prepared and enriched.

Write an accurate description of the plan for your garden and make a diagram of it.

3. Tell about the making of the beds and paths. 4. Tell what you planted and why.

5. The Planting.

Write how you planted the different seeds — in what kind of soil, and how deep.