Evening star., 1925-06-19

Watching plants break ground and
grow Is one of the prime delights of
the garden. With these babies we
get an entire life in the course of
one Summer, from birth to flower to
death.
All the seven ages are spread be-
iore us In little, in the garden, SO
that IN three or four months we have
unrolled for us the whole theory and
fact of their evolution.
There Is no argument in the gar
den. Things proceed according to
immutable law. and no one need
enter mere to dispute about the mat
ter. All this has been settled be-
forehand. The laws Of plant growth
are older than the hills.
Given the seed. the earth, air, sun,
water, Nature takes care of our gar
den, aided with some cooperation
from u.s. or course. for she has Gre
ated also plant lice, drought and
other flower enemies, to say nothing
OF the harsh feet of small boys and
romping dogs.
80 tne garden should be behind a
renee. He who thinks to garden in
the open has disappointment ahead
OF MN. Do You imagine 1t Is for
nothing that the great, essential
farming of the Middle and Far West
requires miles and miles of fencing
With small flower garden, proper
protection Is even more essential
one who has spent hours, days. cul-
tivating his floral treasures finds
genuine sorrow In coming out some
morning to discover his gems stolen
or destroyed
" "herefore, let there be fence, by
all means. or, better still a wall, the
higher the better.
1t is interesting, indeed, to watch
the life history of the Kochia. from
the time its curious. gnarled seed is
put in the ground, to its final flourish.
Ing as bright red bush in the
Autumn.
This plant is also known as Sum.
mer Evergreen, Burning Bush, and
Mexican Fire Plant. 1t is of the
easiest culture, and every garden
ought to have at least a couple of
specimens, If not a hedge of it,
We put the seeds about an inch
deep. and covered them over, the row
not being more than a foot long, as
only a few plants were desired, To
place at certain vantage points in the
yard.
Six days later. without watering
broke ground. There was crack
along the whole row, as if some one
had done II with a knife. The sur.
face dirt was baked but not hard
enough to stop the kochias,
They had cracked the ground. in
that mysterious way of growing
things, and were about ready to poke
their first tender shoots into the air.
In Il little while we could see them
just beneath the surface. tiny green
things, so soft that 1t seemed impos.
sible for them to have cracked that
ground.
Yet they had done it, even as
earlier peony shoots. crimson and
tender. had come up through hard.
baked clay where II seemed no earthly
thing could grow.
The next morning the Kochia
bushes had emerged into the light of
day. Just two small, very small
leaves, OF a pale color were visible
sitting there on the top of the ground
Beneath them lay the root system.
small as yet, but functioning
How fine II would be, we thought
II we could give them some magic
fertilizer that could make them ma
ture in d week, Luckily for the
plant. there Is no such wonder
worker.
There is no royal road to growth
among these living things any more
than there is among the living
class ourselves. at least for biological
purposes.
No baby can be shot from childhood
to manhood in a year. nor can any
kochia be made to become a sym.
metrical 2-foot bush in three weeks.