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

"Write," he said, with Joking infiec-
tion "an article about Snow w-on-the-
Mountain"
Well, why not?
The modest flower called by the above
poetic name deserves chronicle OF It's
own no less than a high and mighty
topic which might strut its nour ana
then disappear.
The trouble with the high and
mighty, either in men or materials, is
that they are soon replaced in the end
less tide which sweeps around the
world.
Only the simple things which have
no individuality of their own remain
the same forever.
The shy violet known to its millions
of friends today, is much the same as
the violet loved by millions in past ages.
These things have individuality only
through being true to type, yet eacn
one stancs forth when 1t becomes
good representative Of the type.
A violet Is violet now, as 1t was
violet then. but Republican is Re-
the next. There is never any telling,
especially in campaign years.
The variety Of Euphorbia, commonly
called Snow -on-the- Mountain. or in
some. localities Snow-in- Harvest. be-
longs to the great Spurge family, widely
distributed.
Coming into its true beauty, largely
leafy, in September, it is properly called
Snow in Harvest on account of the
white margin to its bracts. If these
are nearer gray than white, never
theleSs they are as white as snow in
comparison with the green.
Many flower lovers find the Euphor-
bia an oddly attractive plant, worth
growing simply on account of its un-
usual appearance. Also it Is easy to
handle. no small feature in modern
gardens beset by increasing hosts of
insect and fungus enemies.
The Euphorbias form a large genus
Of herbs and shrubs, from which the
family Euphorbiaceae takes its name
Included in this widespread family is
one tropical plant known to almost
every one-the Ricinus, or castor oil
bean.
The so-called popular, or common.
names of garden flowers are among our
most interesting word creations. They
are not English alone Many of them
are from what we like to call foreign
languages as If any tongues could be
foreign in themselves.
The deep poetic instinct Of the mass
OF the people flowers in these flower
names. such as Snow-on- the Mountain.
and Bleeding Heart, and Lily Of the
Valley, and the like
Some OF them are foolish. but what
ever the metlculous may think OF them
they are almost always a drive in the
direction OF giving something beautiful
a beautiful name-and which sounds
well In the common speech.
Snow on the e-Mountain, for instance,
is better sounding name than Snow
in-Harvest, at least to many an ear.
Youth and Old Age, the common
name for the zinnia is poetic in
thought, if not in pronunciation This
is popular name which has never
been quite popular. being almost super
seded today by the word "Zinnia -
coined from the name of Prof. Zinn of
Germany. the man who brought this
Mexican flower into international PROM
inence in the gardens of the world
We welcomed the suggestion to write
about such a little -written-about plant
as Snow w-on-the Mountain because Of
the many millions of words which are
turned out annually about roses, and
1rlSeS, and gIadioll, and peonieS, and
dahlias the big five of the flcral king
dom. at least in popular estimation.
Every one who loves a garden writes
about these things and likes to read
about them, too There is never any
danger that they will fail to attract the
attention which is rishtfully their due.
One grows somewhat tired of hearing
about them all the time. however, no
doubt about that. To listen to some
of their devotees, an innocent new
conner to the triumphs and failures of
amateur gardening might think that no
other flowers in all the wide world were
worth growing.
No one means that Of course. but no
doubt that is the impression gained by
many an amateur who finds that he
who gardens must also read
Are there any enthusiasts, any riders