122 WORK UNDER GLASS 



workers who, having been shown the size of ground 

 they had to fill in, built up, with their usual skill, 

 a wall of turfs to form the outskirts of it. By 

 placing these layers of turfs, grass side downwards, 

 a good solid retaining wall is made, for grass soon 

 grows and moulds them into an immovable mass. 

 When a portion of this wall had been built up, the 

 next thing was to find a suitable light cart in which 

 to convey the chalk, for although the distance 

 between the two places was not great, there were 

 several stiff little mounds to drag it over, and a 

 heavy farm cart was too unwieldy. By a happy 

 inspiration, I remembered that the village sexton 

 had a small tip-cart. He readily consented to 

 bring it and his stout, red-haired pony to our help. 

 They spent many days with us, and I wonder 

 how often Sally crossed and recrossed the impeding 

 mounds of earth, for she could not drag very much 

 at a time, and so it was a case of little and often. 

 At the end of each week, it was pleasant to think 

 that work ceases at four on a Saturday and there 

 would follow many hours of silent meditation, 

 alternating with deliberate munching, which is a 

 pony's way of enjoying Sabbath rest. 



When the ground had been given sufficient time 

 to settle, some good soil, to the depth of several 

 inches, was placed all over it, and in the early 

 spring, grass seed was sown. As the hill-side 

 garden here reminds us of Italy, we outlined the 

 terrace with dark Irish yews, because the colour 

 of their foliage is in a measure like the depth of 

 green of the Italian cypress. A further improve- 

 ment was made in building a dry wall of brown 



