Evening star., 1932-08-10
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Such prior study will scarcely be
useful, in a diagnostic way, because
the amateur gardener has not had
enough practical experience to know
the symptoms when he sees them:
It will do Just as well to wait for
the plain evidences of disease before
attempting to remedy the trouble. and
especially before worrying about II: =,
Worry ought to be the last guest OF
the garden, but all too frequently 1t is
the first.
One cannot pick up q gardening
magazine without running into scores
of questions from readers, why doesn't
INV peonv bloom?" What Is the matter
with my fern?" etc.
Gardeners have been known TO stew
around over some one plant for many
wears, before finally giving 1t up as
a hopeless case and replacing 1t with
another one, as they should have done
in the first place.
The comparatively small amount OF
money which the new one costs is a
small price to pay, after all, for free
dom from worry.
everything possible should be done
by the amateur to free his garden from
fault finding. and that is Just another
way of saying to free himself from
nQ0l0R IduII Will WIlde AiC ioo'
Next to reading about possible plant
troubles and then attempting to dis
cover them in ones own garden, the
most garden worry Is caused by two
or more gardeners working at cross
purposes in one and the same garden
That is why it is always best to per-
nit one. and one only, to be the ofncial
gardener. the one who settles and de-
cides, the one whose word is law.
BY setting up this Garden Dictator
this good Tyrant, any household VIII
he able to save itself great deal of
worry. and often plain quarreling.
Flowers are too beautiful to get angry
about. Yet nothing is more common
than to see a certain amount OF human
fussing going on in regard to the vari-
GUS operations necessary in the garoen
Here again it is often the person on
the side lines who causes most OF the
trouble. Automobiles are not unique IL
possessing back seat drivers"
Gardening always calls out the gen.
tleman who Is long on directions ano
short on work. He wants to tell every
one else how everything should be done
but one seldom sees him actually down
on his hands and knees.
One member Of a family may be an
advocate of cut flowers, and another oi
| permitting flowers to remain on theil
stalks in the garden.
The former we will call the Shippers
because nothing pleases them oettel
than to 20 forth into the garden, usually
at the wrong time Of day. and to snip
from their stalks every blossom to be
seen. ,.
In other gardens the eternal battle
may 20 on as to pruning. One believes
in drastic welding Of the PRUNING
shears. another feels that they should
be handled with discretion.
And so betwixt the two Of them
they inject a great deal of worry. fuss
and plain bother into the last place In
the world where such things should
come =,
Over every garden gate there should
be erected. as Dante did over the en-
trance Of his hell. large sign warning
those about to enter. But the warning
should be against petty anger. rather
than against hope.
Give up all quarrels. ye who are
about to enter here" should run this
new sign, fit for the smallest or the
| largest garden. the best or the worst.
| Happily there is no first or last ir
gardening. Competition is saved up fol
| the So-called flower shows, where man.
| kind insists on his ideas Of first, Sec
ond, third and so on.
Proper gardening-in the garden. not
on the show bench-knows nothing OF
| first place or last place. Every place
| there is a winner. SO long as the gar
dener and his friends have enough
common sense to keep hostility outside
the pale We have given several ways
Of accomplishing this. Above all. hoN-
ever, let the books on plant diseases
alone That WAY garden madnes lies