Something Novel To Make.

Dear Trainlanders,—

You remember we talked about holiday geography last April. Now here is something about garden geography!

In the Christchurch Public Gardens there is a rock garden map of New Zealand. It is an island, about twenty-five feet long, set in an ornamental lake. Growing upon it are native shrubs. Mt. Cook and Mt. Egmont are two white-tipped rocks.

How fascinating it would be to build a map like this in your garden. No need to make it an island in a lake. Any small patch of ground would do just as well. Perhaps your teacher would let the class help you to make one in the school garden. Ferns could be planted on the West Coast, wheat and oats in Canterbury, tussocks on the hills, a tobacco plant in Nelson, a pohutakawa tree in Auckland, and so on. What happy hours you could spend decorating your map and planting rivers and lakes of white or blue flowers.

Now is the time to dig your garden and prepare the soil for your map. Then, later in the year, it will be admired by all who see it.

If you are very clever you might be able to fix up railway tracks over which to run your model trains.

Write and tell us what other things you will put in your map of New Zealand!

Every best wish from

Yours in Trainland,

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