CATS. 



93, 



CATS. 



seed hangs together, and should be sepa- 

 rated by rubbing it up with soil, if sown 

 broadcast ; but this is unnecessary if sown 

 in drills. The seed is very light, so that 

 a calm day should be chosen for sowing : 

 a little wind is apt to blow it anywhere 

 but into the right place ; it takes from one 

 to three weeks to germi- 

 nate. 



Management . As 

 soon as- the plants are 

 well above ground, use 

 the small hoe unspar- 

 ingly, and thin out to 

 not less than six inches 

 apart ; as they advance, 

 continue using the hoe 

 both to destroy and pre- 

 vent the growth of weeds, 

 and also for the benefit 

 derived from loosing the 

 ground. Carrots may be 

 drawn for table as soon 

 as large enough ; but the 

 main crop for storing should not be taken 

 up till quite the end of October, or even 

 later, unless severe frosts set in. 



Cats in Gardens. 



To keep a cat out of a garden is a matter 

 of the greatest difficulty ; nevertheless, it is 

 to be accomplished by contrivances which 

 shall now be described. 



Wire Defences. To cover the top of a 

 wall with bits of broken glass and bottles 

 offers no bar to the progress of the adven- 

 turous cat. It only compels him to proceed 

 at a slightly slower pace when he is viewed 

 and attacked by the outraged gardener, 

 who is generally restrained from throwing 

 stones by thoughts which occur, or ought 

 to occur, to the minds of all who live in or 

 among glass houses. The tenderest points 

 in a cat are his feet, and he has a decided 

 objection to trust them on wire, and especi- 

 ally on fine wire. He or she, as the case 



TYPE OF LONG CAR- 

 ROT FOR LATE OR 

 MAIN CROP. 



may be, for the ladies are no better than 

 the gentlemen, will climb up wooden trellis 

 as easily and as coolly as a man goes up a 

 ladder, but wire netting pussy cannot and 

 will not climb, out of respect to his poor 

 feet. Therefore, when the walls of a 

 garden are surmounted by wire netting 

 from two to three feet in height, stretched 

 from end to end, supported on iron stakes 

 inserted in the top of the wall, and secured 

 at the bottom to the wall itself at intervals, 

 so that there is no possibility of creeping 

 under it, grimalkin's desire to enter the 

 garden and work his will in it is baulked, 

 and he is effectually prevented from enter- 

 ing it. The netting is too high for him to 

 jump over, 2nd he will not try to climb over 

 it more than onec. 



Wive Entanglements. Among other 

 modes in which wire and wire netting may 

 be utilised are the following. It would be 

 a good thing if the top of walls were formed 

 on the slant, as in Fig. I, either on both 

 sides or on one, as shown by the dotted 

 lines. Formed in this 

 manner, the tops of walls 

 might be better utilised 

 for the reception of coping 

 to protect the blossom of 

 the trees in early spring ; 

 and if there be any objec- 

 tion to the limited amount 

 of rain that would find its 

 way down the face of the 

 wall, it could be carried 

 off by very simple gut- 

 tering. The great object ts to make the 

 tops of garden walls as objectionable as 

 possible to the cat as paths and roadways, 

 and, as a matter of course, the more slant- 

 ing the top of the wall, the less easy will it 

 be for the cat to canter along it . However, 

 his progress may be seriously impeded, if 

 not entirely stopped, by bending a piece of 

 wire netting over the top of the wall from 

 end to end, as shown in section at the top 



FIG. I. WIRE NET-' 

 TING OVER TOP 

 OF WALL. 



