usually find that we know the topic without having to memorize it formally. Finally we should try to put to use the ideas we have gained. The real value of ideas lies in making them serve us. When you have actually put into practice some bit of knowledge, you may then feel that it really belongs to you.

In our work and study we need to learn to devote our whole attention to one thing,—to do this one thing with all the power that we have. Too many of us form a habit of dividing our attention, trying to carry two things in mind at the same time. This is a weakness that interferes with our success. If we are truly interested, we should put our whole attention upon the one matter and develop power of concentration.

To make what has been said about study clearer, let us use an illustration. Suppose one of our Girl Scouts is fond of gardening. The family has no garden, and there is a vacant space in the yard that could be used for this purpose. She begins the reading of one of the farmers' bulletins on this subject, and has in mind, all the time, making a garden of her own. This object of making her own garden is her guide in the study. She wishes to learn what plants are best suited to her plot, which ones will give her the best return for the kind of soil that she has, and so, as she reads, she chooses for herself from the ideas that are presented. The whole subject is arranged in her own mind around her own plan of making a garden. After reading this bulletin she is likely to consult her friends who know anything about this subject, and to read other articles. Finally she puts into practice the notions she has gathered, and finds through actual trial whether they succeed or not. If she is successful in growing flowers and vegetables, the ideas have been put to a very practical and beneficial use. This girl will know a great deal more about gardening than if she merely read the book.

Patriotism

You belong to the great United States of America, one of the great world powers for enlightenment and liberty. It did not just grow as circumstances chanced to form it. It is the work of your forefathers who spent brains and blood to complete it. Even when brothers fought they fought with the wrath of conviction, and when menaced by a foreign foe they swung into line shoulder to shoulder with no thought but for their country.

In all that you do think of your country first. We are all twigs in the same fagot, and every little girl goes to make up some part or parcel of our great whole nation.

Part II

MEMBERSHIP

This Organization is Non-Sectarian and Non-Political

Any girl over ten years old may become a Girl Scout and she may belong to other organizations at the same time.

She first ranks as Tenderfoot or third-class Girl Scout, then, after one month, she becomes, after passing certain tests, a second-class Girl Scout, and finally attains the rank of first-class Girl Scout.

After she has reached the age of eighteen, a girl can become a lieutenant, and when she is twenty-one years old she may become a captain if she has passed the first-class examinations. Girl Scouts' patrols in Europe are sometimes formed by grown-up women, who wish to carry out the Girl Scout program of preparedness, and these are called Senior Scouts.

Grades