68 THE CHRONICLES OF A GARDEN. 



member rightly, was the hoped-for time in long-ago days. 

 Next comes the little speckled leaf of Nemopliila insignis, 

 and of Venus's looking-glass; the little blue-and-white 

 dwarf lupine is also quickly above ground, opening its 

 fleshy cotyledons, and unfolding its tiny whorls of leaves, 

 each glistening like a diamond, for every one holds a dew- 

 drop in its heart. Then comes the pleasant task of thin- 

 ning out where too thickly sown, of weeding, of transplant- 

 ing such as are to be distributed over the borders, or into 

 beds, and last, but not least, the watering in the calm 

 evening, when all hopes of a shower are over ; and one is 

 almost reconciled to the disappointment, because of the 

 pleasure felt in refreshing the parched seedlings with our 

 own hands. 



Besides sowing seeds of annuals and biennials, there is 

 much spring work to be done in the way of transplanting 

 and dividing plants that have grown beyond bounds, or 

 are spreading out their runners in search of " fresh fields 

 and pastures new." It is a good time of year to look over 

 the gardens of your friends as well as your own, to see 

 what plants have thus 



" Broken their trim border lines, and stray 'd 

 O'er paths they used to deck ; " 



for now is the time to try hits of all such, as well as to give 

 them. Many plants struggle out of due bounds from the 

 necessity of getting fresh soil ; they send out runners, and 

 form young plants around the old roots, and these are the 

 strongest and best pieces to take \\\) and transplant. If the 



