44 



We ffiartien's Storg. 



and that English sparrow among the weeds, 

 crab-grass, whose maw is insatiable and whose 

 worm never dies all these fail not to appear at 

 their appointed time. Persistent warfare with 

 the gouge-knife is the only means of keeping 

 down the perennials. The spreading, self-sow- 

 ing annuals that creep along stealthily, under- 

 mining the grasses, are less amenable to treat- 

 ment, and frequently require to be dug up 

 in patches, resodding or resowing the spots 

 whence they were removed. All of these pests, 

 unpleasant as they are, we would willingly ex- 

 change for the crab-grass (Paspalum sangui- 

 nale), the bane of American lawns. This an- 

 nual appears most disagreeably during August, 

 at the time of its inflorescence, its brownish 

 stems rising from large tufts, which crowd out 

 the finer grasses, giving the sward the appearance 

 of having been burned, and utterly ruining the 

 appearance of the turf wherever it obtains a 

 foothold. It revels in drought and hard-pan, 

 and, like the horse-leech's daughters, cries out 

 continually, "Give, give!" Practically inexter- 

 minable, the mower passes over its wiry stems, 

 which cling to the ground and perfect their seed- 

 sowing for another year. Good soil, abundant 

 watering, and shade alone tend to check it. The 

 only thing to be said in its favor, as distinguished 



