Evening star., 1946-10-26
This and That. .
Bp Charles E. TrdceUeH.
ARLINGTON, Va,


Dear Sir: -
II read your column every day. and
being q semi-invalid, with . small gar
den, sit in the yard and identify the
various birds that visit me.
Your article on leaves recently was
very timely and vital. The conservation
OF the soil can only be maintained by
returning to the soil some of the waste
material nature has always returned to
it, where bacterial action and other
natural forces transform into food all
vegetation.
Compost made Of leaves. kitchen
wastes, grass clippings, weeds and any
animal or vegetable waste is easily made
and your garden, whether flowers or
vegetables, will astonish the maker.
II have been making it for the past
FIVE years, and where the soil then was
. red clay, now it is a black, crumbly
soil that grows anything. On account
of my condition, small amount is all I
can handle.
Each year have tried 1t out on some
particular plant. This year grew petu-
Mas four feet long, with plenty OF
blooms, ten pepper plants that averaged
four large peppers apiece, and I had
castor oil plants eleven feet tall.
AN old Danish gardener once said to
me, when he saw people burning leaves,
They are burning sunshine I never
understood that remark until / started
making compost
Very truly yours, r. r. B."
X
Perhaps this letter will induce many
IN fxYic
thoughtleSsly burn leaves.
Such books as PAY Dirt" by j. I. Ro-
dale, and IAN Agricultural Testament"
by Sir Albert Howard, will do much to
set them straight.
organic gardening is coming to the
fore. Louis Bromfield, whose many
novels have been read by thousands,
believes in it, and puts it into effect on
his famous Ohio farm.
There is more to it than just piling
old leaves in hole.
AS in most affairs of life, you must
have the know-how.
Microbes, engines, hormones and
other life elements work for you when
you make and use compost properly.
X i x
At this writing it did not look as II
Washington would have its usual great
display of leaf color this fall.
Leaves represent miracles. Miracles
should not be burned.
1t is always a high point of the year
for the nature lover, when leaves turn
to gold and red and yellow, not only
because of their sheer beauty, but also
because they call such pointed notice
to themselves.
Once a person starts looking at leaves,
and admiring their beauty, he may come
to the point where he regards their
burning as destruction of the worst kind.
When enough people get this idea into
their heads. there will be more leaves
used for compost.
Ashes of burned leaves. 1t is true, have
some gardening uses. Perhaps not all OF
these ashes are washed down sewers.
1t is pleasant to be interested in leaves,
as such. There are several small DOCKS
lust on leaves, the various kinds, shapes,
ETC. This is all elementary botany. SINH
lar books may be secured on seeds.
Every aspect of natural wonder is
edifying Too many persons lose this
sense of wonder. They become city
bound. The strains and stresses OF life
finally force most of them to move out
of the city into the suburbs, but too
often they keep the mental trait of
nonwonder built up in streets of con-
crete and brick.
Even a trip into the deep country is
good, If for no other reason than to
make us look again at leaves and to
recognize them for the marvellous things
they are, motors of light, run by sun
shine. .