Evening star., 1934-05-21
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

The happiest gardening is done for
the sheer doing, not so much for sue
cess.
Hence failure is ruled out.
This is very practical philosophy
of the soil, easily worked out by the
home gardener upon whose efforts
depends nothing much but beauty.
The farmer of the Midwest whose
good top soil dried up and blew away
all over the United States surely
could not be expected to look upon
the matter in such a light.
Our dust visitation here was moth
ing compared with that received far
ther West. In many places in Ohio,
Indiana and Illinois the dust was so
thick that automobile driving was
difficult.
Women who were shopping came
home to find that so much dust had
sifted in at door and window castings
that the patterns on the kitchen limo
leum were unrecogniYable.
X Il X
To rule out failure and the sense
of defeat is no mean achievement.
1t will require some mental applica-
tion, no doubt, but when once achieved
is a permanent possession that cannot
be taken away from one.
1t is not here as with most other
activities, in which success means
happiness and failure unhappiness, be,
cause here one is dealing with beauty
and there will always be beauty in the
garden, even if some things are fail
ureS.
In other spheres success is smash
Ing, defeat crushing, but here ordi-
narily the latter merges into the for
mer so that there is no such thing as
overwhelming success, or total failure
1t is easy enough, in the garden. tc
see the applications of all this. One
of the tragedies of mankind, one may
think at such times. is the universe
application Of struggle and competition
to everything Surely there is enough
combat without bringing it into every
one of life's activities. Let us leave
just one out.
There might be some place left, one
might think. where competition coulo
be shown the gate, and surely thi:
garden in the place, and this arched
gate the entrance way thereto.
1t is not quite the garden it might
otherwise be If the thoughts of other
peoples gardens are to be dragged
into it, and comparisons are to be
the order of the day instead of rari-
ties therein.
II We deliberately rule out, in sc
far as We are able, both mentally
and physically. all competitive
thoughts, We will be able to make a
garden what it ought TO be, a place
OF peace and tranquility.
If we insist on comparisons, or per-
nit others to bring competitive ideas
a risk of losing for ourselves the
truest beauties which may grow here
Peace" tranquility" surely
these are beautiful words. flowers OF
the dictionary. Occasionally famous
men are asked to name the 10 most
beautiful words" and these might bt
included by any Of us. famous ol
not makes little difference Words are
ours as well as the famous mans
1t is pleasing to feel that an un.
famous person may appreciate word:
more than a famous one. as one well
may If one is sensitive to them. Evi
words can crush, good words elevate
and tranquilize.
We speak of peace (of minO as
mental calm and of tranquility as a
quality calm, serene, unruffled.
These are more needs of certain
natures than of others, there can be
no doubt of that. The stormy nature
really values them most, since it must
make the most determined fight tc
keep them. Thus Nature herself or
dains struggle-but the point Is that
we can outwit Nature in the garden
at least, and lose the sense of battle
which mankind has inherited from
the animal kingdom.