Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-28
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
/. C. M.

BY Ernest n. wilson, auCnor OIL
"China-Mother of Gardens" etc
Foreword by Richardson Wright
editor Of House and Garden. Eos
ton: The Stratford Company.
The homely friendliness Of this title
sets up the picture Of cottage, deep
buried in the greenery of tree and lusty
vine and close-set shrub. Upon the
porch a sociable. man, maybe smoking
certainly eager TO talk on that gen.
orally absorbing theme, the making OF
garden. Promptly responsive to the
neighborly hand wave, open the gate
moving through the concealing tangles
of growth toward an approach that
widens, curiously, to meet the imposing
frontage of palace mansion, al
least. Clearly not the little house that
my mind had built solely out of the
timbre of kindly mans voice.
And here Is the first surprise Of the
book-its striking change from SIM
plicity of name to an inner ensemble OF
quite sumptuous quality. The rich ex-
pansion of its theme, the fine pictures
the craft excellence Of type, paper, dec
orations and binding-all these unite III
a highly competent skill to produce a
book of marked distinction and desira-
hility. AS matter of course, so rich
volume is not for every one, save as
libraries make it generally accessible OF
as editorial rooms and other reference
facilities open 1t to students, to read
ers to writer's. An admirable source
book for those interested In its eng-oss-
ing theme.
inside the big book, am beset with
the curious feeling of being both al
home and On the other side of the
world at the same time. There's q rea-
son, as 1t turns out. for so many Of the
gorgeous and radiant flowers standing
by us from season to season hailed
originally from China, Japan, Korea
Formosa. A case in point: The for
sythia, that here in Washington early
in the Springtime banks terrace and
ribbons park corners with masses OF
distilled sunshine. The prime Spring
beauty of the Capital-not giving way
even to the famous cherry blossoms
these golden bells" as they are called
in their native land, where names tell
long tales or set out beauty in odd com
pound words of description, much as
cur native Indian words do. Near the
forsythia are the gorgeous rhododen-
drons, the azaleas, royal lilies and other
flower splendors, all come out of the
Orient and all to be useful here in the
adventure called If Were to Make a
Garden"
Despite the inherent glamour Of the
subject and its drift toward carrying
the reader off into alien lands, there
Is at the head Of the enterprise a
quite practical man bent, whole
heartedly, to the business of creating
beautiful gardens all over the country.
The man and the moment are we'll
met, since, for one reason and an
other, general interest is just now
keen to the subject of the home gar
Gen, to creating new beauty spots
within the limits of city and town.
Along highways as well. And, in effect
DR.. Wilson takes each Of these groups
under his own practical guidance
How large is the area in question?
What is its nature-rich and loamy
or thin and stony? How does it lie
toward sun and wind? Water near-a
little stream. bit of lake border?
Basic essentials there. Just planning
to cut the garment according to the
cloth, as my thrifty gre ndmother used
to say. And from such beginning gar
dens many and various grow through
out this book Of technical knowledge
and an artists vision.
Some of us are not going out with
spade and trowel. Just the same, we
may have a keen interest in growing
things and in their best behaviors un-
der good guidance and friendly over
ture. And so We of this class sit down
within the roomy book, so definite and
complete in its information. From II
we find out that the current interest
IN this subject Is renaScence, and
not an original. Time was a couple
OF centuries ago when gardens were
in high vogue, with fashions of their
own, like bonnets and petticoats. And
then under one or another of the
stresses Of material existence the gar
left in the row, more than likely to
give way TO sinister tools, turned to
the uses Of warfare between nations. or
to the implements Of growing indus
trialism. However, with the garden
again in full swing. here are pertinent
discussions Of the seasons, each in its
contribution to the success of the re-
vived enterprise toward beauty. From
June to September the gorgeous pro-
cession moves in lessons of exact
knowledge and the best methods of
treatment
To the reader this book is. in effect,
great museum. No, not that kind.
Not the old aSsemblage of dead-and-
gone things. A living museum in
stead, wherein plants from all over the
world have been provided with sur
roundings not alien to the native
habitat. And here they live, joyously,
ambassadors of beauty from far lands.
agents Of appreciation and good will
between our land and remote corners
of the earth. Astonishment is bound
to come from our huge debt in this
respect to the East-Chlna and Japan.
There is a deeply significant fact
about the distribution of these gorgeous
Towering plants through China, Japan,
Korea, Formosa. No, not a climatic
fact, not that alone. nor even in the
largest measure. Rather is this diffusion
traceable to the deep sense of beauty
possessed by the Oriental of these bor-
der lands, sense of piouS implications
For priest or other holy man to carry
this thing of perfect loneliness to an
other people, to another land, counted
to him as an added worthiness in the
sight of his own gods, of whatever
gods there be" or were to him of that
time and place. A very wonderful feel
ing to stir within the human, anywhere,
any time. Not so?
Ernest Wilson, head Of the Arnold
Arboretum, scientist of high standing
unitarian, who, nevertheless, did not
feel called upon to repudiate beauty
Rather to use it. DR.. Wilson Is, to be
sure, like any other creator or any other
man of useful achievement greater
than that which he did. In an inter-
esting sketch the editor Of House and
Garden gives the high points of the
life that was cut off by motor acct
dent not long ago. Lamentable and un-
timely.
An English lad who by one Of the
many chances of earning a living
found place with plant propagators
in a nursery of one of the northern
shires. In a little while the boy was
deep in the absorbing job of making
things grow. Naturally, he moved for
ward in knowledge and in the high es-
TEEN of his employers. He might have
stopped there to the lure of fair liv-
ing. Somewhere within the fellow there
was, however, an adventurer. He wanted
to go out. not to Shoot big game on top
of the Himaiayas or thereabout-not,
like the Roosevelt boys. to hunt the ami
NAL named for Marco Polo, said to have