Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-05
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRAcEWELL.

that there Is nothing more that can bt
done to It, It has been reseeded, cut
and recut; It has been spread WIFI
fertilizer and put into prime condition.
Every little lawn has problem ol
its own. In one 1t will be rocks boring
no beneath the surface, through the
action of the frost, cutting of the sup
piy OF moisture to the grass above
In such cases there is nothing TO Dc
but dig up the rocks and try again
In other yards careless builders leave
projections Of concrete, which similarly
cause grass to die along the walks
Here there is no remedy but to dig dowr
and cut of the offending concrete.
once these problems have been At
tended to. the home lawn takes on Q
fairly permanent character. Aside
from watering 1t In periods OF dry
weather, 1t makes no further call upon
the energy and intelligence Of the
home owner.
It is at this point In the life Of every
home that the owner comes to q fail
hating place in gardening activities
He has done about all that there iS to
do. Nature calls upon him to call II
quits" She seems to say to him. Let
me alone, stop paving around In my
dirt. and disturbing my creatures which
need no attention. You have played
your part-now let US alone"
The wise gardener recognizes tne
Justice in this, Natures plea, but 1t Ii
precisely the thing that he does not
want to do. Must he give up his work
and henceforth remain a mere spec
tator at the garden pageant?
One answer Is the time-tried one
probably INDUCED in by most home
owners, of tearing up and rearrangine
everything. Hardy shrubs are dug up
by the roots and bodily carried to other
points in the yard.
New beds are dug for the roses, which
are transplanted according to the best
advice available. For a time such ex-
pedients work very well. The gardener
has something to do at last.
The net results, however, often are
not as satisfactory as one had antici-
failed to do well the year following
Leaves appeared only at the tops of
branches, and a white scale marred the
lower boughs. The blossoms were pale
and without the proper scent.
What, then, shall the owner of the
small garden do? Our answer may
seem to some q Grass bowling of the
knee to mammon, and such 1t is: The
only solution is to get a bigger and
better yard. The small yard, like the
small house, only has place in the
development Of the human being One
is reminded of Holmes "Chambered
Nautilus" and its injunction for every
one to build him more stately mansions
Although addressed TO the soul, 1t may
be applied to the human habitations
which encompass us upon our long
journey.
The first necessity Of the human
being Is to make the best Of what he
Is and has, but that once done, there
is nothing left for him to do but move
on. 1t is in the blood of the race. 1t
had its beginning away back with bar
barrie tribes, which swarmed over Eu-
rope in the search of new homes. Per-
haps' the old homes were good enough.
but economic pressures of various kinds
pressed them out like cider from q
vat. They had to move.
Today one does not have to be a
gypsy to feel the old urge to be up and
moving. In the unresting sea OF this
life dissatisfaction comes to every one,
sooner or later. The waves of life
send up their whitecaps, calling the
wayfarer home-home to a new home,
to q land Of peace and plenty. The
Jews in search Of the promised land
are the eternal type Of the seekers after
new homes, where the problem Of how
to keep up interest in the garden is
solved by getting new garden.