MY GARDEN 



so pretty in the spring, spraying its delicate greenery 

 about upon the moist brown earth, and one experiences 

 a pang in rooting out a thing so young and pretty. But 

 be strong! To say that Shepherd's Purse is a hardy 

 annual does not do it justice, for like the Chickweed, 

 when not actually frozen into passivity, it is blooming 

 and ripening seed, and statistics say that a single plant 

 is capable of maturing 50,000 seeds, and this at a dis- 

 gracefully early age. This industrious young thing is 

 prone to attacks of various diseases which will spread to 

 other plants and vegetables. 



I do not know how we came to be so annoyed by the 

 Night-flowering Catchfly, or Sticky Cockle, unless it is 

 that the young plants very much resemble several of our 

 lawful citizens and so are overlooked. It is a tall 

 annual, covered all over with glandular hairs and bear- 

 ing yellowish- white flowers which open at night. 



Dandelions are ever a trouble, and yet how glad we are 

 to see them in early March, venturing a tousled yellow 

 head here and there in sheltered corners. My little boy 

 calls them his "spring friends," and does not like the 

 harsh treatment they receive. In the loose soil of the 

 garden it is easily pulled up, but in lawns and paths 

 more drastic measures are necessary. Salt put upon 

 the crown of the plant is said to kill it. 



Jonas tells the children and me that the Dandelion 

 is a great weather prophet, and the Chickweed, too. If 

 the winged seeds of the former fly upon a windless day, 



