tellations, then hold it overhead, and turn it
once round for twenty-four hours, making the stars rise in the east._

_The sun and the moon appear almost the same size as a rule. When we are
a little nearer the sun, in winter, he looks a trifle larger than the
moon._

_To study the constellations, go out when the stars are bright, armed
with a star map and a bicycle lamp to read it by, and spread a rug on
the ground to lie on, or have a deck-chair, or hammock. Watch for
meteors in August and November._

_Let each girl try to draw a sketch map of a given constellation, from
memory._

GARDENING

Now what about the gardens, for it goes without saying that Girl Scouts
must have gardens. Getting right down and smelling the fresh soil is
good for any one. It is mother earth's own breath. Watching the growth
of our seeds is a veritable joy of joys. But what had we better plant?
Why not let every one plant at least one tree? Never mind what kind of a
tree. We will talk about that in a minute but decide at the outset that
you will have at least one tree growing this year. Your trees will be a
legacy to posterity, a gift from the Girl Scouts to their country. For
in this United States of ours we have cut down too many trees and our
forests are fast following the buffalo. Nay, the bare face of the land
has already begun to prove less attractive to the gentle rains of heaven
and offers far too open a path to the raw blasts of winter. In many
sections of our country the climate is drier and colder than it was
before so much of the forest was destroyed. We are just waking up to
this sad fact which it will take many years to rectify. So let us plant
trees.

A tree is a tree anyway be it large or small. Some are useful food
producers while others are of value for ornament or timber. All are
good. There are no bad trees. So if you plant and raise a tree there can
be no mistake. Whatever kind you select you will have done well. Fruit
and nut trees will of course appeal most strongly to the young,
especially to those with good healthy appetites. Many very young trees
can be made to return some fruit in a comparatively short time by being
budded or grafted. Scouts should learn how to bud and graft. It is not
hard. Pears, plums, figs, and peaches all do well in the South as do
also some apples and grapes. Peach trees though are in the main
short-lived. But trees of different kinds can be grown all over the
country. Apples an