Evening star., 1934-10-04
THIS AND THAT
BY 'HARLES E. TRACEWELL,

Unprecedented rains left the lawn
soggy under foot, with typical Spring
feel to 1t. as II flowers were yet to
bloom.
One fine blossom still awaits its
time. The chrysanthemum, which
even the English love for abbrevia-
ened to num-" will be out in the
garden shortly.
Many people call them "mums," 1t
is true, but always with an air of hes
itation and apology, as if they realized
they were doing damage to the flower.
The word "chrysanthemum" comes
from two Greek words, one meaning
gold" and the other flower" so our
combination means gold flower"
The typical coloration, to most Of
us, is yellow. Gold is really yellow,
rather than red, although it can be
made either red or white.
The garden chrySanthemum today
comes in all shades, and in various
types and sizes. ranging from pinks
and reds to whites and purples.
No doubt the pure yellow chrysan-
themum Is the favorite of most gar
deners, there seems something about
1t so typical of Autumn, with its fall
ing leaves of the same hue.
The moisture of September ought
to be good for these flowers Nothing
in nature is wasted although to our
eyes something may seem to be. While
too much rain has its drawbacks,
there is always some plant or other
it is just the thing for
Grass seed put in the last of Au-
gust or early in September has ben
Gifted. The man who sold the seed
may have advised the purchaser not
to sprinkle" it, but nature took the
matter entirely out of his hands.
Re-seeded or freshly seeded grass
plots have done well, despite the del
uge of water which the skies let down
upon them. This is according to
schedule. Natural precipitation, I'M
less Immediately after sowing, will do
no harm, only good Seeds may be
washed out Of the earth at planting
time, but after they have had a chance
to establish themselves by even the
slightest roots almost cloudburst is
needed to dislodge them.
Accordingly there will be found few
persons interested in gardening who
actually lament the continued rains,
except to be polite. 1t is interesting
to watch people talking about the
weather. Those who genuinely dis
like rainfall will be found, in almost
every instance, persons without gar
dens. Perhaps this is not to be won
dered at; some personal interest is
required before academic interest. He
who growls against hard rains is not
often q gardener, even on the smallest
scale. 1t will be found, in general,
that persons genuinely interested in
growing plants seldom have any true
complaint to make about steady rain,
gray skies, the human feeling of
humidity affecting the skin and tenn
perature. They are willing to let
Nature take care Of her plant chill
dren the way she always has, the
way she will keep on doing, in all
probability. Something has been said.
from time to time, about mans ulti-
mate control of the weather, but no
one to date has ever put much stock
in that possibility. 1t seems just a
little bit too far fetched, does 1t not?
Man is a wonder-worker, all right,
but that he will ever know how to
make 'it" rain when he wants rain
seems a remote chance, indeed.
II y
Every home gardener Is a fatalist.
He accepts the weather which
comes and tries to make the best of it.
If cold Winter kills back his
privet hedge, he cuts the branches
back to sound wood and let's them
grow up again. He does this in early
Spring, If he is wise, not in late