Evening star., 1928-03-07
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES +. TRACEWELL.

Comparatively warm days this Win.
ter will lead many ardent garden fans
into attempting the impossible b,
starting work too soon.
What Is more intriguing than
bright March day which is living up Il
all its lamblike possibilities?
Then the urge to put seed into tn,
ground becomes almost irresistible
Those who like to dig In the earth wan
to get out and dig.
1t takes almost heroic powers OF re.
Sistance to refuse to do So when thu
birds are singing and the sun Is shinin,
ana the grass seems growing greenel
and greener minute by minute.
| The wise gardener. however. will no.
Succumb to the lure of such a day. but
will steadlastly pursue his plans of tn,
| moment. sure in the knowledge that ,
day will come when Spring actually will
| be here
| Then there will be plenty of time
ior raking the grass and putting Il,
SEED, and getting the Winter stiffness
out OF the good clay which forms sr
large part of the earth In the Dis
| trlct OF Columbia.
Clay receives some hard cracks from
gardeners. and the gummy, sticky sort
mat tends to cement its particles to.
gether does, indeed. deserve such con-
oelnnatlon Almost nothing viii prov
properly in it except those wonderf,,
SurvivalS, the weeds.
The good clay, however. Is mucr
more common, and in it one NAV groN
| anything well, with little pains anc
attention to his plants. Especially !,
req cay good for roses. There is moth.
ing tnat q rosebuSh seems to like bet.
yer than good red clay as the basic
| loundation for its life. Servings oj
Wen rotted manure and other fertilizer,
are necessary. of course, but CLAW i.
the paSlc material for the growing al
| good roses. e VI
Let the new gardener, In his neu
| nome, Keep this in mind If he visits
some OF the nurseries, he will discove,
tilat the growers by preference miami
lheir stock in clay. 1t will be found
| necessary to tighten most CLAY soils r.
some extent. especially If there is an,
.enaency toward gummineSs. There Is
no,tIng more tenacious than what we
can PAD clay. Even it, however. car
oe mace INTO good clay by the adj.
1,'n.u,e =. s,.;i OF numus sand or manure
II Wl'l take time. however.
Ihe average clay bed found in a hac.
yard needs only to be spaded IN and
let lie during the Winter, and the in
corporation OF some sand or humus in
.ile spring. TO put 1t into fine condi.
tion Tor the growth OF almost any.
tnlig IN the plant line. Sand is good
ana Is easier TO obtain than hu,n,1s
me latter seems TO be stumhlino
oiock 10 most amateur gardeners h,,f
.Ilere IS nothing very mysterious about
, ~. me Eord Is Latin for earth, ground
son. AS used today. the word hurnu,
nleans 1he organic portion of soil. the
part broken down by decomposition
iton OH, vegetable and animal matter.
me Improvement Of ground usually
comprises Two endeavors. the one tc
oet.eF us physical texture. and the sec
ono. 70 increase Its fertility. 1t is be-
eaISe wei rotted cow manure does
ooth tnat 1t is such perfect ingredient
Ior .ne gardener. Old woods dirt is
mostly pure humus Some firms make
specially OF digging 1t UP from the
bottoms OF Old lakes and selling Il AT
SO much hundrcd-poundb bag. II one
Is really interested in q garden. 1t is
worth 1t. It looks for all the world
ike the grounds of coffee out OF the
percolator 1t is clean and easv 10
handle. and improves the appearances
OF red clay by making 1t darker in
color. Its use breaks up the clay
particles and makes the soil easily
workable.
1t must be kept in mind that humu,
Is not fertilizer, its action being mostly
| mechanical. II simply works its wa,
INTO the soil, breaking up the closel