Evening star., 1932-11-03
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

No doubt the best rain for the garden
is that which begins late at night, pre-
ferably before midnight, and continues
well into the next day.
Just what there Is about the night
rain which makes it peculiarly good for
the growing things is something which
only the scientist could explain.
People who work with the soil have
plenty Of theories. The relation of the
moon, Of the tides, of stars in the
heaven, to the various doWnpours may
or may not be factor in the case.
great many gardeners Of the old
school feel that the best time to plant
seeds Is when the moon Is in a certain
sign"
This is a very old belief Many an
old-tlmer would no more think OF
planting at the wrong" time than he
would of voting the wrong" ticket.
The recent rain deserves a word all
by itself, especially in regard to the
portion of 1t between about TAO and 8
am.
The first indications of this rainfall
developed at about IL O'Clock the previ-
GUS evening, which happened to be
Halloween.
Thus the precipitation held off long
enough to permit merrymakers to get
their I'LL Of play.
The streets were covered with a slight
film Of water after II o'clock, but it was
not until some time later that any real
water began to fall.
Then, If one happened to be in a
sleepless mood, one heard the rain
increase in severity from hour to hour,
a mn in1n oh ,.lz
could have been described as a heavy
raln-yet.
1t was not until the next morning, at
almost exactly 7:30 O'Clock, that the
fall increased TO any extent
AT that time the steady precipitation
began to put on steam, as a mechan-
ized world likes to say.
The first thing one knew, especially
If standing waiting for public vehicle,
was that veritable doWnpour began
OF the sort which lashed into ones face
and despatched the cuffs of trousers.
An umbrella was not much good a
loot or so from the pavement. Above
that height this trusty old friend of
the pedestrian did its usual good work
In keeping the Gampness of.
The umbrella is such common sight
that 1t Is difficult for most of US of to-
day to realize that only comparatively
few years ago, speaking in general
terms. 1t was practically unknown, ex-
cept in China
The first gentleman to use an UNI
brella against rain in the city Of Lon
don was laughed at unmercifully, If We
recall the legend Alright.
What! Protect ones self from the
rain?
The very idea was absurd.
Looked at from that standpoint, an
umbrella is rather absurd, after all.
But how it works.
No more practical rain shedder has
ever been created or likely ever will be
thought up by the brain OF man.
The umbrella is good because it works
The efforts Of countless minds to i'm
prove on it have resulted in little.
Like the violin, it is perfect in its
way.
The only improvement in years has
been the shorter handle, and this. alas!
Is mostly confined, for some queer rea-
son, to Womens umbrellas.
Men continue to carry the old-fash-
loned, long-handled type, usually sur
mounted by big shepherds crook 1t
Is the cover. however, not the handle.
which catches the water, as many a
pedestrian found out anew the other
morning during the extremely heavy
rain, when the sky was darker than il
had been all Halloween.