22 HOW TO MAKE A COUNTRY PLACE 



helped in working out that most difficult feature in landscape garden- 

 ing, a natural rockery. Steep terraces were never sodded but held 

 in place by trailing honeysuckle, transforming the usual gullied slope 

 to banks of fragrant bloom and several ungainly stone heaps beauti- 

 fied by the creeping pine that licked their edges and ferns of 

 varied size and lacy texture that grew in crevice and hollow. Islands 

 of evergreen broke the surface of the lawn, and proved citadels 

 of refuge for a dozen or more gray squirrels whom Spot the fox 

 terrier delighted to hector and terrorize. 



The Sleepless "Varmint." 



Though our lawn was often ridged by that animal machine of 

 indefatigable endeavor, the earth-worm-eating-blind ground-mole, 

 who, according to the farmer, dies when without food for more than 

 a few hours, a steel pin trap set over his runways made his shadow 

 grow steadily less. 



Candlemas Weather Prophet. 



Speaking of shadows, the entrances of a dozen or more ground- 

 hog burrows scattered through the pasture lots were faithfully 

 watched at Candlemas, February second, for signs of an early spring, 

 but Mr. Ground-hog generally saw his shadow, returned to his hole, 

 and we stopped sorting seed until the voice of that more reliable 

 prophet, "the turtle, was heard in the land." 



Tennis Screen.* 



The upstart mechanical wire tennis screen edging the lawn, 

 braced to withstand extra strain, was transformed into a green wall 

 of beauty by plentiful plantings of honeysuckle, Dutchman's pipe, 

 trumpet vine and moon flower, while the hole-in-the-ground green- 

 house grew enough plants to decorate a portion of the same lawn 

 with new old-fashioned ribbon gardening, making attractive parterres 

 of flowers and in the fall a wide variety of bulbs was set out for 

 spring blossoming. One of the most pleasing beds showed a mass of 

 yellow and white tulips. 



Beautifying the Ugly Gravel Pit. 



Shrubs that grew good dirt-holding roots surfaced the sides of 

 a yawning gravel pit, before planting the steep incline being worked 

 to a lesser grade with a horse scoop, and retopped from an adjacent 

 pile of loam. Profuse evergreen and shrub planting changed a dismal, 

 barren area into a really beautiful semi-ravine, one portion closely 

 resembling a grass-grown volcanic crater. Steps of old railway ties, 

 spaced with three foot rock and gravel treads prevented washouts 

 and half covered with vines led to the bottom of the ravine. The 

 spraddling prostrate cypress edged the rocks, among which grew the 

 red beaded partridge berry, while near by, at its best in blue splendor, 



*One of the two tennis courts was flooded in winter for a children's safe skating pond. 



