club.

Immediately after school each Friday afternoon they all trooped round to
The Chief's little house, which had become a centre of village interest.
Finally the men came too, for they had found out that this man knew of
what he spoke.

But we are wandering away from those Friday afternoons.

There was the strangest collection of stools and benches in The Chief's
side entry, all belonging to the boys and girls. "You must each one
bring your own seat, because you all know that I haven't chairs enough
to go around." And this called forth the collection.

It was an odd sight that first Friday in early November. A long straggly
line of boys and girls, each one with a seat of some kind, wound its
way up to The Chief's hospitable door, where he stood waiting, laughing
aloud at the sight. In they came, and made a semi-circle about the big
fireplace.

"I just love this room," said Albert, voicing the feelings of them all.

"I have thought," began The Chief, "that since our really successful
first year of gardening, we ought to be in a position to undertake and
to desire to know more about certain subjects which I shall discuss.
Each Friday I am going to take up a topic such as I should if I were
teaching you in school."

"You do not mean that we'll have to remember and answer questions just
like school? You surely do not mean that, Big Chief," broke in Albert.

"No," replied the man laughing, "no, you may forget it all if you like.
Remember it, if it seems to you useful. But if it's a strain on you,
Albert, make it your business to forget."

They all laughed at this, but none so heartily as Albert himself.
"That's one on this old head of mine," he said, banging that member up
against the side of the chimney.

"My first talk I have given you in part, but I have more I wish to add.
I believe even Albert can stand it. The subject is the soil.

"Soil primarily had its beginning from rock together with animal and
vegetable decay, if you can imagine long stretches or periods of time
when great rock masses were crumbling and breaking up. Heat, water
action, and friction were largely responsible for this. By friction here
is meant the rubbing and grinding of rock mass against rock mass. Think
of the huge rocks, a perfect chaos of them, bumping, scraping, settling
against one another. What would be the result? Well, I am sure you all
could work that out. This is what happened: bits of rock were worn off,
a great deal of