Evening star., 1925-09-11
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Even the air we breathe Is nicely tenn.
pered to our lungs. II 1t had a little
more Of this in it. or a little less Of
that. we could not breathe.
In all. some 80 gallons of tobacco
water were put on the roots of those
| plants. 1t was a great deal Of work
nothing of the money invested.
But 1t has been worth all Of it
| Today the asters glorify the garden
and as cut flowers are absolutely un-
| surpassed. I suppose there Is no other
| bloom that lasts as long in water as
| the aster.
At the end Of a week the flowers in
vases appear absolutely as fresh as
their sisters which have just come out
in the garden. Two weeks in good
condition is no unusual time for as
ters as cut flowers.
| The blooms, too, have a certain
dellcacy and grace not often found.
The good old zinnia makes q good
cut flower, but is coarse in compari.
son with the asters.
| Some like the purple asters the
best, but perhaps most like better the
pink. red and white ones There is
one great pink aster, with a. gold
center, that Is queen OF the garden to
most beholders.
Then there is a wine-colored red
one that gives a shimmering effect.
| also large, white asters as beautiful as
the best chrysanthemums. The green
| foliage and wiry stems Of the aster
add to its total effect.
! A border Of these plants is a beauti
full sight. making the imaginative feel
as IL some fairy had brought back
the great pink and white cocoanut
| cakes of childhood days for an
Autumn display.
They do, indeed, look good enough
to eat, and that is just exactly what
the aster beetle then starts in to do
| One has to be ION the Job" to raise
asters. Besides the lice, they can get
the wilt" and the "yellows." to say
nothing Of the beetles.
The so-called aster beetle is an ugly
fellow, black and rather long, with
a great greed for the petals. A herd
of them can despofl border in an aft
ernoon. Eternal vigilance is the best
remedy.
II kind neighbor calls you on the
telephone. and tells you that the as
ter beetles are after his or her flow.
ers, do not commiserate with him Tor
herr. and then forget about IT.
| Hustle out into your own garden.
and do not rest until you have dis.
covered every beetle, and made away
with 1t by hand. There may be sprays
| effective against them, but hand
picking never fails.
Horticulturists have done wonderful
things with the old wild asters, and
also with the Chinese aster, the com
mon one OF the modern flower garden.
! Few books and no catalogues tell of
I the troubles which the aster may
face. and perhaps they are right in
not dwelling upon them, for they thus
might scare many amateur garden
ers away from their culture, which
would be a shame. for they are lovely
| flowers, and worth all the work and
perturbation they cause.
| The aster belongs to the Composite
| family Of plants. which includes the
| Scotch thistle, the Gaillardia. the
daisy, the double cosmos, calendula
| heliopsfs, sweet sultan and venidium
among others. according to Prof. l.. H
Bailey. in his latest book. THE Gar.
| dener."
| Some gardeners never have any trou.
BILE at all with asters, and, on the
| other hand. some commercial grow
ers have simply had to give them up.
| You can never tell. AS a word OF
warning. perhaps 1t would be we'll to
advise all back yard gardeners 10
use discretion and not grow too
| many of them. There are other plants
| almost as pretty that are sure fire"
and they are the ones to concen-
trate on.