Evening star., 1932-07-23

now entirely surrounded by the upright
growing strips Of vegetable matter
known as bulrush leaves.
The typical "cattajl," from which
the plant gets its name, will come along
later.
For the present the rush is devoting
its time mainly to crowding out the
The lily does not look as happy as
it did.
Several Of its pads are split down the
| patches on the upper surface.
One sees that it will be only short
time now, at the present rate of growth,
before the cat-tan has taken over the
pool for keeps.
Then the water lilly, which was in
tended to be the centerpiece, as it were,
Of the entire aggregation, will be dis
tinctly minor, or even non-existent.
The gardener looks upon this change
with interest.
Perhaps 1t is not as he willed it, but
at least 1t is something.
Why would not a cattail pool be as
good as a waterlily pool?
After all, waterlilies greatly resemble
many other flowers, owing most of the
vogue which present-day gardeners have
accorded them to their habit of grow
ing in water and floating on the same.
Surely that is a great deal, enough in
itself to account for the esteem in
which the varieties of Nymphae are
held by flower lovers everywhere.
Waterlilies, however, have q great
deal more in their favor, of course.
Chief of these is the beauty of the bios
SONS, the fragrance and the appeal of
the heart-shaped floating leaves.
Many a gardener, however, has been
forced to let his pool go as Nature
wanted it to go. 1t is not bad garden
practice to let Nature take charge of
affairs, either: she has been in the
business for many years and ought to
know, and does know, more or less,
what she is doing.
No home owner should feel abused
therefore, if the cattail plant in his
pool takes over the entire expanse of
water. There are a great many more
unattractive plants. Many which are
more beautiful, in sheer terms OF
beauty, yet are not as interesting, or as
sturdy in their habits of growth.
Health in a plant is as cheerful
a thing to watch as it is in children
or their elders. There is one school
Of thought even which depicts beauty
as health and scarcely anything more
The common cattail is a healthy
plant, one which belongs by right in
| its habitat and which seems to be
fully as well pleased with its tiny poo
as If 1t were growing with thousands
OF others in marsh.
1t does not whine about its loneli-
ness, or isolated condition or former
splendor when it was one among thou
sands. but starts out determinedly tc
duplicate those conditions as far as the
very edges Of the space will permit.
Hence, after attaining a height oi
6 feet it begins to send out other
leaves, evidently spreading by root
growth underground, just as many lane
plants do. which send up shoots. Oh
suckers, as they are sometimes called
far out from the original plant.
Soon this little pool, intended solely
as a lily pond, with other plants as
lily obHgato.
The optimistic gardener regrets hi
lily only slightly This cattail, with It's
| lush growth, ought to more than make
| up for it.
He will have something unique ir
pools, something not seen every day
| and in every yard. That will be a
satisfaction. Perhaps there are toe
many water lilies in the world as 1t is
and not enough cattails. Whereupon
the legions of typha latifolia, stretching
around the world. give three rousing
cheers, or rather meows.