Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-17
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

shows, no matter how badly It looks.
| Grass which is yellow, seemingly ex-
tinct, can become green overnight; no
one need despair of grass, no matter
| how it looks. Except upon terraces.
Newly sodded terraces need water dur
ing the first few weeks; failure to give
/ 1t during that period means the end
Of the grass. Much watering later will
do no good
! Many homeowners are victims of the
| old tradition that zone should never
water the grass when the sun is shin
ing" That is mostly bunk. The trou-
| bic is that too many persons merely
| sprinkle" grass, instead of watering
1t. There is a big difference.
| If one intends to turn on the fine
spray and play it upon the grass for
a half hour, he is making a mistake
because the total amount of water
/ placed on the grass will amount to a
few quarts, at the most.
But If one intends to water the grass
in the best sense, he may do it at any
time Of the day, provided only that he
does 1t thoroughly, which may mean
hours at time. The best way is to
take off the nozzle and permit the end
of the hose to lie in one spot for at
least half an hour before being moved
few feet
Even if grass is white, it can be
brought back to life by this method
1t is rather tireSome work, of course
| and one that many persons will not
bother with, but the grass enthusiast
will, and he will get his reward in a
newly green lawn.
4 r
AS one stood watching the rain come
down through the trees, he got almost
thrill out of the realization that this
| was the first time in so many days
| that the trees had received any drink
| How wonderful the trees are, as they
stand with their leaves uplifted, their
roots deep in the ground, able to live
when smaller things fade and perish!
| Here we're the locusts, much abused
| trees, which showed a few browning
branches, yet in the main stood greener
than even a believing gardener might
| expect The water now falling might
do them little good, so far as their root
systems were concerned, but it would
wash the dust of their branches and
leaves, and enable them to do better
work with the sunlight.
Perhaps some water might trickle
down into the baked soil, but so much
of 1t seemed to be running down the
streets and sidewalks 1t seemed a pity
that the waste water could not be
converted and placed squarely around
the tree trunks throughout the neigh
| borhood.
Yonder was a bleeding heart plant
which had suffered the last strokes as
the result of the drought. Would the
rain do 1t any good2 It seemed doubt
full, but 1t would be interesting to watch
It, from now on, and see If the life
blood Of bleeding heart would flow
again.
= 4 X
And now the rain was overt
just half an hour Of 1t, but just 80
minutes more than had been known
since May or Whereabouts.
Already the section seemed refreshed.
Shrubs that had cracked, they were
so dry, now rustled softly in the slight
wind like silks at a tea party
Strange drops hung from the leaves
Of the favorite locust, which spread
out its branches protectingly over the
front walk.
They were drops OF waterl
One looked at them curiously, as II
one had never seen such pearls before.
The rain was over. Had 1t been a
dream?
No. there were the drops glistening
in the trees, to prove that there had
been rain.