68 NATURE IN A CITY YARD 



said. But with the peep of spring we be- 

 gin to be willing to see green. There is a 

 lot of life in winter, especially in ourselves; 

 but life without vegetation is not complete. 

 Green is the assurance of life. So we watch 

 for the coming of the grasses, of the clover, 

 hop-clover, wild clover, chickweed, pig- 

 weed, purslane, plantain-rod, English 

 plantain, dandelion, smartweed, shepherd's- 

 purse, oxalis, mallow, daisy, sorrel, cam- 

 omile, wild parsnip, ragweed, butter-and- 

 eggs, thistle, aster, yellow-dock, all of 

 which are indigenous to our yard, while 

 we keep an eye on the moss, algae, and 

 fungi, and rejoice to see their increase. 

 The foregoing list is not complete: it is 

 merely recalled. When I looked first at 

 the yard I saw nothing but grass. The 

 eye sees what it wants or expects, or is 

 used to see. After a time I noticed clover. 

 I am not sure that I discovered the abun- 

 dance of chickweed until the canary-bird 

 needed some. Now I find that every 

 yard is a botanical garden of unguessed 

 variety and extent. Even some yards in 

 that Sahara they call New York yards 



