Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-18
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By the BookIoUer

"The Gardeners Bedrock" by
Richardson Wright, is not book Of di-
rections for gardeners in laying out
flower beds, but book for an amateur
gardener, or lover of quaint short
essays, to read in bed, The preface is
itself delightful essay, so should not
be skipped, even by those who habitu-
ally miss much OF the best of books by
skipping prefaces. The preface is en-
titled How to Read in Bed and Still
Remain Happily Married" and begins:
Some years ago made serious in
veStigation among people who had sur
vived the first trying seven years of
married life as to what brought on their
first Spat. Invariably they confessed to
having struck this initial reef when one
wanted TO read in bed and the other
wanted the light out" Mr.. Wright con-
tinueS to outline the stages of growing
irritability: THE first six months the
solicitous admonition runs, Dear, you'll
strain your eyes If you read any longer
The next six months it goes YEARLY.
Don't you think you ought to stop
reading now?' The subsequent six,
Isn't it time to put out the light?'
Finally, after the second year. that voice
banks, Put out that light!!!' And if,
after this, some solution for reading in
bed isn't found, the male of the species
had better quietly begin saving up ali
mony." But the author does not leave
his diagnosis without Offering a rem
edy. Now the solution is simple. Read
her Cor HIM to sleep first. The dron-
ing of your voice having proven COM
pletely soporific, then quietly pull out
your own book from under the pillow.
~ y X
1.-THE Gardeners Bedrock" is ar
ranged as an almanac, with a short
essay, each less than a page long, for
every night in every month of the
year, and for good measure a long
piece" of a page or TWO at the end of
each month The city rarely intrudes
in these essays, though the author
himself travels to the city from his
country home. Silver Mine, Conn. In
many an essay he gives us to under
stand that he leaves his garden and
trees with reluctance and returns to
them with eagerness. In the essay
Motors Versus Serenity for February
10, he tells with pride and elation how
he was refused license to drive an
automobile at his first attempt, which
was also his last. He had been begged
and bullied by his family to learn to
drive, but having once been told by
an inspector that he was "a menace
to start or stop and reflects with salts
faction; After I am deposited on this
hilltop, I stay here. But If that
unknown inspector ever appears in this
garden, he can have the best flowers
in it." In mo Wonder They Wilted"
he tells Of young woman friend who
had been told that aspirin tablets
would revive her dropping flowers, but,
forgetting the kind of tablet she had
been directed to use. plunged choco-
late-coated caScara tablets into her
vases and the flowers failed to revive.
Table Centers" is an essay on unique
table decorations. A Christmas center
piece on the authors dinner table was
a holly-hedged, cotton padded basket
full of "cute, fluffy little balls" for
the family fox-terrier had presented
a litter just in time. There are sew
eral essays on the authors pigs, for
which he himself built a villa. In one,
Calvin and the Swine" Calvinistic
native of the countryside is described
as gazing in melancholy meditation
at the wallowing pigs and remarking
gloomily: Mighty lucky, them hawgs
They don't have to worry about
goin' to He'll" The essay '.Left-Overs'
sings the praises of the Sunday night
supper as much more delightful meal
than the old-faShioned midday Sunday
dinner. A scrap of cold lamb or of
chicken with "a touch of String Bean
salad left over from the Beans of noon"
makes very tasty meal and brings
the satisfaction OF economy"
* *
At the end of each DAYS ESSAY in
THE Gardeners Bed-Book" is a quaint
bit of practical advice for the amateur
gardener. January 10: Having read
your catalogues and spent imaginary
millions begin now to write down what
you actually plan to buy" February g.:
Since Paper White Narcissi take only
six weeks to flower in pebbles or peat,
plant new batch for Easter" March
4: "All pruning of trees, shrubs and
vines should be finished before the sep
starts to rise" March 10: "See that
the compost heap Is Sturned over this
April IL: "A universal and generous
distribution of bone meal is the first
step in successful Spring gardening. !"
May 26: Tuck a straw blanket under
the Strawberries and put up a net to
discourage ravenouS BIRDS June q:
Brown beetles on Peonies, Roses and
such can be picked by hand and exult-
antly dropped into can of kerosene"
July 4: Give the Melons generous
doses of liquid manure these days"
July ga last planting of Golden Ban
tam Corn can now be made" August
IL: See that the bird bath is kept filed
with water these hot days" September
5: Autumn is an ideal time to seed
down new lawns. Water after seeding
or pray for rain" October 2: "Tomor-
row begin top dressing the slopes of the
Rock Garden with stone chips" Novem-
Der 4: Election Day offers an excellent
opportunity to plant Tulips" December
Is: Tomorrow order a live Christmas
tree in pot and plant it out of doors
after the holidays" December 16: THE
golf-playing husband may make repara-
ton to his gardening wife by giving her,
for Christmas, an order for those plants
she couldn't afford his year" Notice
the reverential capitals for all flowers
and plants.
1.-THE Bracelet" by Robert Kitchens, is
story OF mystery and intrigue, con-
cerned with pair of bracelets, not one
Brett Arden, the man of the triangle,
seems rather stupid to give identical
bracelets of diamonds and emeraldS,
purchased from a Russian nobleman, to
two women, intimate friends of each
other. and both his miStreSSeS. OF
course, there Is trouble, as Mr.. Kitchens
intended, even If Brett Arden did not.
The two women, Olivia Mansfield and
Lady Bettine Frayne, are both much
more in love with Arden than his per-
sonality seems to justify and their
friendship ceases to be serene and trust
ing Olivia, a woman of high ideals,
sacrifices some of them because of her
love for Arden. Lady Bettine, woman
of no ideals, loses her confidence in
Olivia the one person she has trusted
The story is clever, if not altogether
probable.
The death in Tucson, Ariz., of Col.
William M. Breckenridge, deprives the
Old West of nta.a Of itS rnnst t,,rnSnllo