Evening star., 1932-10-15
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

This is the season Of the year every.
one calls Autumn, ard 1t is difhcult te
find any other name for 1t, with thu
exception of Fall, try as hard as ont
may.
Autumn and Fall-these two words
about exhaust the vocabulary. The
first Is English, and the second dis
tinctly American in usage.
The first came down to US from
France by way of Rome, the second /:
honest Anglo-Saxon, short and down
right.
The etymology of Autumn" 4
branded dubious, whereas any one alive
who has seen leaves fall from the trees
at this time Of year will know all there
is to know about the derivation oi
Fall"
Yet Autumn still remains the worlds
favorite word, although Englishmen al
times pause to lament the fact tina,
their own Fall got away from them
so that today 1t Is regarded as ar
Americanism.
Strange as it may appear, however
we of the United States generally pre-.
fer Autumn" Perhaps 1t will appear
a dozen times to once for Fall" ex-
cept in headlines, and the like. where
the brevity of the latter word appeals
There is some disposition on the part
of many, both In Great Britain anc
the United States, to feel that "Au-
tumn" Is more in keeping with seriou.
writing; that Fall" had better be re-
served for speech and foot ball &C.
counts.
There are plenty Of Englishmen who
feel that they would have done better
by their tongue to retain Fall as the
favorite.
After all. what's in a name?
Even this season Is not definite. II
the popular conception. In this coun.
try Autumn is regarded as consisting
of September, october and November
while In England August, September
and October are the months.
Astronomically in the northern tenn
perate zone the season runs from the
so-called Autumnal equinox. about
September 81, to the Winter solStice
about December 81.
So much for words. except to ado
that the Autumn OF anything is Its
third stage.
The real interest in the Autumn oi
1892. now getting into its stride, lies ir
the plain fact, apparent all about us
that the dogwoods in Rock Creek Park
and elsewhere have just put on theil
reddest leaves.
Never has the park been prettier al
this time of year, chiefly because the
leaves of other and larger trees are
exceptionally green.
Most of the city and suburban foil
age still awaits the touch OF authentic
Fall.
Seldom have trees and shrubs looked
so fresh and green this late in the
season.
Householders know that as yet, es-
pecially in the suburban areas. COM
paratively few leaves have fallen.
There has been a scattering fall, but
not by many tens Of thousands thu
number one might have expected BY
this date.
Or does one necessarily tend to re,
gard seasons as abnormal when they
are nothing Of the sort?
Perhaps the truth is that the average
observer, even the Nature lover. the
man or woman who finds something
enthrallingly interesting in the slightest
changes of the seasons, lacks the precise
data essential for true comparison.
Nevertheless. he attempts to make
such a comparison, and so often draws
an entirely erroneous CONCLUSION.
nature Is iaTBe, loWeNc4, Sae ooe-' AAo
mind mistakes half as much as man
processes to mind them.
If a mistake is made in regard to
Nature the universal mother wastes nc
word about it. but goes right ahead with
her queer ordering of the universe.
Rewards and punishments, to use
man-made terms, are meted out in &C
cordance with her laws. There are no
special favors and no determinations.
The third stage of this year brings
the National Capital to the middle OF
October with a larger percentage OF
leaves on trees and shrubs than ever
before, we believe.
The honest althea is our guide.
This old favorite but now too little