"
"Ten dollars is an awful lot of ice cream!" said Mab, sighing.
"He's only joking," laughed Aunt Lolly. "You children mustn't let him win
the prize. Keep busy in your gardens, and get it yourselves."
Hal and Mab did, hoeing away each afternoon when school was out. Daddy
Blake showed them how to cut off the weeds that grew in between the rows
of corn and beans. The earth was chopped up fine, for the children were
told that earth which is made fine holds water, or moisture, longer than
when it is in big chunks.
"And plants need to drink water from the soil, as well as through their
leaves when it rains," said Daddy Blake. "A plant can no more get along
without water to drink than you children can."
"Oh Daddy!" cried Mab, running in the house from her garden one day. "A
lot of my bean leaves have holes in them. Has Hal been shooting his pop
gun at them?"
"No," said Hal. "I didn't! I wouldn't shoot your beans, Mab."
"Well, something did!" cried Mab. "Will my beans be spoiled, Daddy?"
"I don't know. I hope not. We'll take a look."
As Mab had said many of the leaves did have holes in them. Daddy Blake
looked carefully and found some little bugs on the undersides of the bean
plants.
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