TWO GARDENS

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 129, 4 June 1927, Page 14

TWO GARDENS

-:*.: Jerry and Jim.had-been busy all day a-iihakihg their gardens. Jerry's- garden waslon one side of the low fence and Jim's was on the other, for the boys lived: next door to each other and the low fence .was all that divided the two back" yards. The gardens were to be • exactly alike; Jim and Jerry had decided that during the winter when they planned together what they would plant. .There was to be a row of flowers ■inext to the fence, and in front of •■rj-them; were to be lows of lettuce and • "beets and radishes and other good things to eat, planted in exactly the .same -way in each garden. '•; oil So, on thiß sunny spring Saturday, ; ithe j)oys were busy indeed. "When at last the seeds were all in the ground, the garden bed on one side of the fence was exactly. like the garden bed on the other side of the fence. Then one evening a few days later • xqjim -looked across and saw Jerry busily sprinkling his garden with a 1 ? fine spray from the hose. „_ "Why do you do that!" asked Jim. „.fit's going to rain pretty soon anyway." ' " '■'Kaybe it will, arid maybe it won't," replied Jerry. "Anyway, the earth; i« rather dry, t so I thought I'd -...sprinkle it." He continued to use the ..wspray until the ground was well niois--itened. ■ ■ ■ . . irfi.'.'fit's no use," said Jim, leaning -idly Over the fence to watch him. Jerry's seeds came up several days j!-ahead of Jim's, however, and his garden was quite green before the first .•••seedling showed its head in the.plot r'beyond the fence. «.■•■'■!• One morning' while he was" dressing,. Jim looked out, and saw" Jerry down ; -.on his knees working busily among -,-.his little plants. ' " --,['■ "What are you doing?" ho called -n'irpmihis window." J." Weeding,"' said Jerry without -booking up. ..■.'.fit'a too soon to weed,'' said Jim. ■-*■'You can't tell yet which are weeds ■ X» nd *which are plants."'' £<*' -"Qh v yes, you can—easily," said 'Jerry;, and.went on weeding. ". r Wlien the right time came, Jerry transplanted his little lettuce plants so that they would have room to grow into hard round heads as they. should do. Jim said that was . too much _ trpubje,: and that, anyway, it did just as well to pull out a few sma'il plants so the rows would not be so prowded. "After" each rain Jerry carefully cultivated his garden, to make the most . "6t every precious drop of moisture. Jim.lay in bed and thought about it,- ---■ but instead of - doing it turned over ,!'ifor another nap. -;- . One morning in midsummer Jim went •"■wut-into the yard whistling like a black- • bird. It was quite early and he had decided to pull a few weeds from his garden before breakfast. (Before Btarting hia work he went to the fence and looked over at Jerry's garden.) The whistle stopped suddenly, and his mouth opened in surprise. There were flowers blooming on Jerry's side, and his were hardly budded. There were lettuces hard and round, ready to be' gathered 'Mieyohd the fence; those on this side ■"were: not: heading and somo were going to seed. His radishes were •^pithy and email; Jerry's were large 'and juicy. The ground was loose arid fine in Jerry's garden, and the plants looked ai though they enjoyed being there. '("Well," said Jim to himself, "nobody .would guess that these gardens were meant to be just alike." Just then Jerry came out of his house, and Jia called to him. "Your garden is much, better titan '^fiimej" he said. "It's too late to catch up this year, but next year I'll take ... care ;.of mine too." And, sure enough, the next season both- gardens were not only planted alike, but grew alike, because both had the care they needed.