Evening star., 1928-03-05

Perhaps there Is no subject writer
about to so little purpose as gardening
The writer here. who occasionally
tackles this glorious topic. has the COM
Portable feeling that nothing he writes
on flowers can possibly strike his
readers rs any worse rot than a great
deal of that written by others.
Who Is there who loves his home and
garden who has not at some time or
other picked up a magazine with great
hopes and expectations of really finding
out something about some flower, only
to end his reading with himself in the
same state of knowledge that he held
at the start?
How is 1t possible" he asks himself
"for one to write so many words and
tell exactly nothing at all about his
subject, how to grow so-and-so? Here
we have some grand pictures of the
thing, and a plethora of words, but
when you pin 1t right down, there is
not solitary fact here that / did not
know before.
There is, Of course, plenty OF room
I know, for the inspirational writer, OF
the essayical writer, to ramble through
garden paths, intent on sharing with
the reader some of the reflections which
have been stirred up in him. This is
one sort Of garden writer.
But here we have plain article
protesting to tell the palpitating read
ers just how to do something, just how
to score Knockout with peonies
The how to- Is in great big letters an
inch or SO high. There cannot be the
slightest bit of doubt about 1t that the
writer thereof fondly imagined that he
was about to impart real information
to the world as he sat down to his
typewriter. Yes. I understand that
writer's use typewriters nowadays.
Somewhere between his machine and
the publishers, however, all his informa-
ton got lost. evidently, for I will give
dollar to any one who can find a
grain OF it in this blurb telling the
amateur how to grow peonies. Try
and find it,"
OF course. We all ran into the same
thing back in school.
Teacher worked a problem on the
board, explaining" 1t industriously a.
she or he went along. Then, with ar
eXpectant look, he or she turned arounc
to the class.
"See?"
We all saw" Of course.
Those who really understood n0ddec
no more vigorously than those who die
not. AS matter OF cold fact, since Il
may now be told, the most vigorou:
nodders were exactly those who did not
understand a thing.
The adult reader may be forgiven fol-
coming to the point where he take:
most Of these "how to" articles with 6
proverbial large grain Of salt.
This "how to" business Is being large
ly overdone.
The magazines are full Of screeds pro-
Tossing to tell an anxious world how tt
do everything. from interior decorat-
ing to how to grow gladiolus.
Any sensible person knows that mod
ern interior decoration Is a real study
one demanding the time. energy ane
brains of one who is willing to appl,
himself to the work industriously.
At the same time he fools himself int
believing that some earnest wight vii
be able in the course Of few thousant
words, TO explain to the reader Just how
n home may be transformed overnight
into a thing of glowing beauty.
The information common to gardener
is as old as the hills. Surely, ont
thinks. a determined man might be ab!'
to strike off few sparks OF knowledg'
from the age-old wheel.
Run back rapidly over your stock o