2 NATURE IN A CITY YARD 



flowering of that plant is a surprise, and we 

 lay little wagers as to whether or not there 

 will be a bloom this year. 



The zoology of the district likewise com- 

 prises English sparrows, slimy slugs, and 

 earth-worms. Mosquitos call whenever 

 the wind brings them in from the fens of 

 Long Island and the meadows of New 

 Jersey ; and we are liable to have flies. 

 There are beetles, gnats, fire-flies, centi- 

 pedes, and a rarely visible mouse. In 

 flower time we enjoy the company of bees, 

 both honey and bumble, vagrom wasps, 

 and hornets and moths and butterflies in 

 great numbers. 



Then, let 's see : we have a cricket or 

 two, and a periodical delegation of grass- 

 hoppers. We have stocked the place with 

 three toads and a turtle. The ability of 

 these citizens to hide themselves in a space 

 so small is wonderful. As to minor deni- 

 zens and visitors, their name is legion, and 

 they are a corrupt, unconscionable, per- 

 nickety lot. They are the aphides, the 

 common plant-lice that prey by myriads 

 on the poppies and chrysanthemums, the 



