Evening star., 1925-09-10
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

GUS to plant them in the front of the
| house, for they tempt many persons
| to steal them. To steal flowers, i
hold, is not so much a crime as other
| thefts. although one may not agree
with me at the time one first dis
covers some lost blossoms.
Yet there is some excuse for the
man, woman or child. who has no
| flowers, for falling for the tempta ton
to make on with a few choice speci-
mems of hyacinth'
II the thief will but leave me one
| or two blooms for my own enjoyment.
| Lady Derby, with clear rose pink
| bells, Is an old faVorite. And there
are many others, too, and In various
| tones of pink, and white, and shades
| of red, that are lovely beyond COM
| petition.
The late Elbert Hubbard said that
! IL he had but two loaves of bread. he
/ would sell one and buy some white
! hyacinths with which to feed his
| soul Probably most of US would get
more soul nourishment out of the
pink ones. As for the odor of thess
| flowers. 1t is heavy and not liked by
| some, including the writer / prefer
them outdoors
The Roman or miniature hyacinths
/ are priced by some, as also are the
| so-called grape hyacinths, the latter
slender spikes of pure blue. As for
| the crocus. every one loves it, but
often 1T does not come up as it should.
As for the daffodils. or narcissi
of which Wordsworth sang so beauti-
fully, there are many varieties OF
| these, so that the bulb fan" wifi have
| to work them out for himself. with
l a nf he ,..
i like the bulb and seed catalogues.
know of no men in business who
seem so human as the men who run
the great seed houses of the country.
1t seems that il is impossible TO deal
/ with growing things without becom-
| ins a real human being. even if one
were inclined TO be 'uppish" before.
| Just as one is likely TO meet more
/ courtesy In the Department of Agri-
culture than in any other Govern
ment Office in Washington with the
possible exception of the Washington
CITY Post Offce), so, among busi-
nesses, there is none quite compar-
able to the seed business.
| This business has grown up with
the country and has stood shoulder
10 shoulder with the farmers and
| srnali-town people of the United
| states in making our land what II is
today. So there is something in
tensely human and understanding
II you understand me-about their
relations with the general public
| Ihey do not have TO adopt any code
of ethics They serve the Lord of
all growing things. and are in tune
with immortal forces.
To show you exactly what | mea
quote at random the introduction to
the latest bulb catalogue that has
come to my desk. There is more than
| business here-there is love:
| Prepare now for next Spring A
garden Is thing of leisurely aristo
cratic old roots and carefully assert
| ed flowers. 1t brooks no forgetfd-
| ness and will not flourish on per-
functory attentions. 1t has no BIOS
SONS for an absentee lover. Nothins
In the world needs so much love. but
notning gives You so much pure love
in return. lie Gallienne.
| I'VE have many letters of com
| mendation of our quality and serv-
| Ice, among which this simple MESA ps
| came recently:
like you better than any seed
| man that I have ever known and
wish you all the good luck in the
1T came on bleak dav when
| everything was wrong with the
| world
The planted bulbs looked withered
Ihe On1ce Cat wouldn't purr.
! Even the Office clock was ont of
commission.
When out of the mass came these
Few words of faith in us and our
endesvor
! Why-with them came back all
the cheer and high hopes We found
we were working in Good Cause
{ our chosen Observation-Disclosures