THE CITY YARD 



root scouts to found new colonies. If witch-grass 

 gets into your yard it is almost worth while to 

 spade it up from end to end, chopping and over- 

 turning the sod to freeze and rot it through the 

 winter, and making a fresh start with lawn-grass 

 seed as soon as the snow is off. The war against 

 weeds in the yard is, in object and effect, so like 

 the war against the weeds and parasites in human 

 society that one can readily forbear to publish 

 any parables on the topic. Where a walk occurs 

 between a lawn and a garden-bed, especially if it 

 is a flagged walk, the grass roots are less apt to 

 cross it than they are to underlap a space imme- 

 diately adjoining. Thus, in one way, it means 

 economy of labor to have as much walk as pos- 

 sible, and we have all seen " gardens " behind 

 city houses that consisted entirely of flagstones, 

 to Mary Ann's resounding joy, and the pained 

 astonishment of moths, potato-bugs and persons 

 who drifted into them. Let us pray not to have 

 that sort of a garden ourselves, and to the end 

 that we may not, we will continue our devising. 

 Only, before leaving the subject of grass, let me 

 caution you against making flower-beds in the 

 form of stars or anchors, or human beings, be- 



63 



