Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1933-03-07

Through happy times and troubled
times the grass still grows, and has II
be raked In the Spring.
Underneath our feet the green carpet
Of Summer now lies brown and unre-
garded, except by those garden-minded
persons who never forget.
In q comparatively few days, how
ever, thousands of human beings,
stirred by day slightly warmer than
customary, will begin to think 1t time
to rake the grass"
1t is the annual tribute to the mighty
forces OF Nature whose children we
all are.
Soon all over this great land of ours,
no matter what else Is happening, there
will appear hundreds and thousands of
men in their shirt sleeves.
They will begin to rake up the dead
grass, in order that the new growth
may have chance to get through to
the light and air
There is something thrilling. satisfy
ing, in the contemplation Of this very
commonplace spectacle
Indeed, the real thing itself will
scarcely class as much Of a. sight, be-
cause it will be viewed bit by bit, here
man. there a man, so that the mass
satisfaction of 1t will be lacking, some
how.
To each individual gardener, how
ever, 1t will be an eminently salts
factory proceeding, one to which he
has been looking forward for many
months.
OF all the homely chores, perhaps
there Is none with more appeal
This Is something which every one,
man. woman, boy, or girl. can do with
some approach toward perfection.
Not every act gives this feeling, that
one Is able to do 1t correctly, partic-
ularly that one is capable of doing 1t
In semi professional manner.
So easy is it. fundamentally to
handle rake! 1t is one tool which
seems TO require no experience, no
training, no intuitive knowledge.
One does not have to be HANDY
man" in any sense. to grasp an ordi-
nary garden rake by the handle and
draw it over the lawn.
Dead grass and old leaves come up
in the instrument in a most salts
factory way.
1t is slightly amazing. after all, the
feeling OF pride which suffuses the
ordinary citizen as he bends his back
in this very prosaic task
There is nothing about it which any
one cannot do, as I have pointed out,
yet every one feels something of that
primitive pride in bowed back and
honest application of hands in labor.
The back is the first part of the
anatomy to feel the STRESS and strain
as every one knows who has ever taken
rake in hand.
One wonders If there is any\human
being alive who has not. at some time
or other. attempted to rake the grass,
either his own or some one else's lawn
Many try, but not all stick
To rake lawn from beginning to
end from one side to the other, is not
as easy as it locks.
BY the time one Is half way through
an average sized plot the back aches,
the hands are raw with the cold, and
the eyes, perhaps, have begun to water
4
The technique of this interesting
operation rests in the completeness OF
the raking.
Some hardy persons feel that moth
ing less than a thorough uprooting of
all the grass plants will do.
Others harbor the impression that
the lightest sort of raking is all that
Is necessary.
Perhaps the true raking lies in a
medium application Of muscle to old
leaves and grass, in order that the
really loose material shall be removed,
but that no essential part of the grass
plants shall be harmed, especially roots
Thus flendish raking, such as every