FIRST WEEK IN APRIL 



with fine rich soil and soot, with which a little good 

 grass seed has been mixed, which quickly springs up in 

 the showery weather of April, and the sward will soon 

 again be a perfect carpet of green. Where moss is 

 troublesome it should be raked away before mulching the 

 grass. The special grass manures prepared for lawns will 

 be found valuable in this case, as moss is a sign of the 

 exhaustion of the soil. Bone meal, soot, and lime are also 

 useful as a lawn mulch, mixed with finely sifted and rich 

 loam; sulphate of iron, too, is desirable where the soil is 

 deficient in iron. The most serious difficulties of all in 

 the case of a lawn are the ravages of the grubs of the 

 cockchafer and the daddy-long-legs, which cut the roots 

 of the grass like a knife an inch or two below the surface ; 

 and these can only be prevented by the use of the roller 

 at ten o'clock at night, when these insects come to the 

 surface and are easily destroyed. The starlings, valuable 

 under-gardeners as they are, prevent any such disasters in 

 my garden, for their leader (who sits constantly on the 

 highest point of the tallest chimney, chattering like a parrot 

 to his mate) marshals his troop in the early morning on 

 the lawn, where they may be seen quietly piercing the 

 sward with their beaks in search of a breakfast of grubs. 

 Sometimes they are startled by the human gardeners, when 

 they all rise into the air in perfect order like a regiment, 

 and perform their most clever evolution, in which, on 

 the order of their captain, they seem to utterly disappear 

 for a moment by means of a simultaneous sudden swerve, 

 thus making themselves invisible. But they quickly settle 

 down again on the grass, for my garden is well known 



tin bird society as a perfectly safe place. 

 This is an excellent time to start a hanging garden on 

 the roof, the balcony, or the leads of a town house. Very 

 charming retreats may be obtained in this way, refreshing 

 alike to the owner and those who pass by, for flowers 

 are doubly welcome in a city. Boxes, to be painted in 

 dark olive-green, and tubs of various sizes, from the half- 

 cask to the " lard " tub, may be obtained very easily ; 



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