HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1951-02-08, Page 3•ea s Great Gifts
To Our Gardens
Writing in tiElortictilture,' Leo -
sore Bingley, tell about Korea's
gifts to gardeners, One .of them is
the hardy spirea blooming like a
floral fountain, which graces many
an Ontario lawn in spring—the
Korean bridal wreath. And with
larger flowers and more spreading
growth than the Chinese variety,
two of our best forsythias, ,opulent
with golden blossom, also origin-
ated in Korea.
In 1902 a plant hunter explor-
ing Korean waysides came upon
a flowering shrub with rose-
coloured buds and waxy, pure -white
flowers. Its fragrance was clean
and spicy, the essence of spring
itself. No time was lost in intro-
ducing the plant into North Ameri-
can gardens where it seems to have
taken kindly to soil and climatic
conditions. It is the mayflower
viburnum (Viburnum carlesi). In
his book on Plant Hunting, Ernest
Wilson says that if Korea had given
us none other than this lovely
plant, that land would merit the
lasting graittude of gardeners.
"Let me state emphatically," he
adds, "the species is a native of
Korea only, and unknown in China
or Japan to which countries it is
persistently referred . . . It has
accepted our soil and our climate,
added beauty and fragrance to our
lives, but, in the beginning, the
Power which distributes plants to
mankind ordained that this parti-
cular bit of loveliness should grow
wild only for those people who
lived in the Land of Morning
Calm."
One of the gems of the barberry
family is a native of Korea, and
can be recognized by its leathery
leaves, sometimes reaching a length
of three inches. It produces flowers
in inch -long racemes and its
berries are a radiant red to brighten
autumn days in the garden..
Waysides and gardens in milder
zones south of the border and in
British Columbia, have their spring
days glorified by masses of rho-
dodendron blossoms. English lanes
and hillsides are adorned with the
great flowers produced on the
same lofty shrubs. Many of the best
varieties originated in Korea. One
of them, distinguished by its pure
pink blossoms, was found by the
earliest of Korean plant hunters,
Baron _. Alexander Schlippenbach,
in 1854. He found the shrub which
has been named for him growing
in tens of thousands on the lower
slopes of the Diamond Mountains.
Another gorgeous rhododendron
with fragrant flowers of rosy -purple
delighted plant hunter J. G. Jack
when he discovered it growing on
Mount Poukhan, near Seoul, in
1905. Seed was collected in quantity
and taken to the United States
where it flourished.
Korea in, peacetime is a rich
field for plant exploration, and
Ernest Wilson writes glowingly of
the treasures found there. Lilac
time, which for many gardeners
and flower lovers is the crowning
glory of spring, owes much to
Korea. It was Wilson who intro-
duced the earliest of our lilacs to
bloom (Syringe oblate, dilitata).
Open panicles of flowers, pink and
fragrant, distinguish it, and it has
foliage dark and leathery which in
autumn days brings a second joy,
for it colours brilliantly.
In recent years fall gardens,
lengthening the season of bloom
most gratefully, have heen gay
with a host of new chrysanthe-
mums. Many of then are Korean
hybrids. It was the good fortune
of hybridizer Alexander Cummings
to stumble across a wild Korean
species with white, daisy -like
flowers, which became a receptive
and pliant species for breeding.
This Korean daisy became the dom-
inant parent in the development of
of many recent hybrids. But the
list of Korean originations in other
plant varieties could go on indefin-
itely.
Speaking of our debt to Korea, -
.Cummings writes: "Korea, asso-
ciated with much of our fine gar-
den material of today, looms large
in the history of garden chrysan-
themums, both ancient and recent.
ke
a a Spr
11Y tal,INA MUM
IN .spring. a young woman's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of hats.
But the wisest of women direct their attention towards the
often troublesome matter of selecting headwear long before the
first daffodil pokes its head above the ground.
A hat can make or break your spring outfit.. It must at once
suit your personality, tie in with the color of your ensemble, flatter
your features and enhance your general appearance.
Too often women are swept off their feet by a single virtue in a
hat. For example, while the color may be a perfect match or con-
trast, the shape of the hat may leave much to be desired.
Picture hats, for iftstaiee, are particularly complimentary to
+tiA sheaf of sheer white net, kanife pleated, streaks across tis dra-
matic spring creation. The demure Bleated net is held fire place by
a broad band of »ink velvet ribbon.
Golden straw leaves are strewn tteroaa the stiffened blonde mesh
of tIrrin sawing pieta -e hat. Shallow Browned and wide brinuned„,
the hat sparkies with scattered rhinestones.
women with long slender faces but do little for naturally round
lanes.
Hats with horizontal lines, like the one at lower deft, are a boom
to unusually tall women but a liability for women who are short.
On the other hand, turban -type hats aid high heels in coming to
the rescue of women who wish'they were a little taller.
In. choosing the color of your spring hat, don't trust your: memory -
if you want the hat to match your outfit, take a swatch of material
with' you on your hat -shopping trip,
And, • above all, ask yourself how long you will truly .look for-
ward to wearing the hat. When you try !ton, does it seem to give
an 'added lilt to your step?
Remember that altogether bats are the perennial butt of jokes by
the male of the specie, they are as much of a spring tonic as sulphur
and molasses. Where is nothing like a hat to provide some relief
from a winter of dreary landscapes or• a month of drab domestic
chores.
So when youbuy a hat, take. a deep breath of courage and take
a hat that will make you want to hold your head high.
New Light On Question. Of
What To Wear In Cold Weather
Prof. M. E. Barker of the Uni-
versity of Arkansas dispelled widely
held beliefs as to What makes cloth-
ing comfortable.
Piling one layer on other layers
doesn't do nearly as much good as
we think, he finds. Two layers of
cloth do not give twice the insula-
tion value of one layer, but only
about one and one-half times as
much. According to Barker, there
is little difference in the insulation
value of a piece of cloth whether
it is made of wool, cotton, rayon
or any of the synthetic fibers, so
long as the thickness, structure,
color and density are the sante, He
assumes that: the • cibth is dry and
that there is no wind. Heat loss
through damp fabrics is from two to
five times as great as from the
same dry fabrics.
In ridiculing the notion that many
layers of fabric are preferable to
few, well chosen, Professor Barker
pointed out that Eskimos wear only
two relatively thick layers of cloth-
ing weighing together, about ten
pounds. On the other hand the
Arniy, to get the sante insulation
value, uses approximately thirty
pounds in some seven layers. Pro-
fessor Barker nevertheless approves
of the Array's idea for the reason
that when multi -layer clothing is
worn, it is much easier to shed
some garments. and thus adjust the
insulation to the amount of heat
that must be lost during periods of
exercise. Besides, the insulating
value of cloth increases more rapid-
ly than thickness, up to about one-
fifth of an inch.
Compromise Needed
Barker holds that the well-dressed
outdoor man should establish a good
compromise in lightness, economy
and warmth. This can be achieved
with moderate - weight, closely
woven synthetic fabric for under-
clothes; a really closely woven thick
wool cloth (24 ounces) for shirt
and trousers; a thick quilted coat
of. mixed wool and feathers, and an
outer windbreaker in the form of a
parka of two layers of water-
repellent cloth.
The windbreaker should be made
BY -
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of cloth so woven as to stop ordin-
ary wind current yet allow' the
body's normal perspiration to es-
cape in the form of vapor. If the
cloth layer next to the warm skin
'becomes damp, the heat loss is
nearly as great as if all the clothing
were wet. On the other hand, a
wet outer layer has much less ef-
fect in increasing heat loss. Keep
underclothing dry and you will be
comfortable,. is Barker's admoni-
tion.
Barker regards the body as an
engine which can generate enough
heat every hour to raise the temper-
ature of five pounds of. water .100
degrees:• This heat 'most ; be, >dissi-
pated, The average adult human
body has approximately twenty
square feet of surface from which
80 per cent of the heat energy must
be cast off regardless of outside
weather conditions.
Difference in Temperature
The rate of heat loss is influ-
enced by the difference in tempera-
ture between the body surface and
the outside air and surroundings,
the insulating value of the clothing
the wind velocity to which the body
is exposed and the amount of moist-
ure to be evaporated on the surface
of the skin. There are also such
minor factors as the compression
or tension of the clothing, the type
of outside windbreaker layer, the
manner in which closure is effected
to prevent stray air currents from
reaching the body surface or from
pentrating the space between the
layers of clothing that surround the
body, the thickness of the individ-
ual layers of fabric that compose
the clothing, the composition, emis-
sivity and structure of the cloth.
"To be comfortable in windy; cold
weather outdoors," says Barker,
"you must wear dry clothing in
comparatively thick layers; the
ankles, wrists and neck openings
must be closed to exclude thermal
convection currents, and the out-
side windbreaker layer must be of
closely woven cloth with a smooth
surface, yet • it must permit out-
ward diffusion of water vapor from
the body."
New ideas Abtut
Fertilization
Seldom does a year go by with-
out a gardener trying something
new in the line of plants or their
care. Any method which poves
successful from the viewpoint, of
a better display or saving time is
certain to become a part of his reg-
ular practice, writes E. L. Far-
rington in the New York Times.
New varieties of roses in the 1951
catalogues remind me that I mulch-
ed my beds of this flower rather
heavily with coarse compost last
spring. The. results were highly
satisfactory, for few weeds ap-
i sed' and there- was • little need .for.
cultivation. Town restrictions re-
duced the amount of water I could
use ' and although I regard ade-
quate moisture as one of the es -
roses, the plants did not seem to
suffer. All in all, the coarse but
not wholly, disintegrated compost
preyed as good a mulch as any ma-
terial I have ever tried.
A neighbor who was committed
to organic gardening to the ulti-
mate degree had grown sweetcorn
successfully finder a sawdust mulch
for several years. Last summer his
corn refused to grow. The plant
food needed to meet the demands
brought about by additional bac-
terial activity was undoubtedly not
there; 1 find that grass clippings
provide the only mulching material
.which does not need to be supple-
mented by extra feeding.
Whether or 'not iny unusually
good yield of tomatoes resulted
from my use of aluminum foil as a
mulch, 1 would not know. In other
years, 1 have mulched with grass
clippings, which I considered a
good practice, but the aluminum
foil may have special advantages,
* *
Last summer, too, I picked more
blueberries than usual. In past
seasons, the birds got more than
their share of berries in spite of
all the scare -away devices 1 could
find. The robins and starlings ig-
nored, all of then. In 1950, I put
in effect the simple plats of covering
thirty bushes with a glleat it'nt
under which I could walk and
work. The tent was trade of dis-
carded tobacco cloth in two 30 by
40 foot sections bought for a song.
* * *
The cloth was stretched over
wires held in place by water -pipe
posts six feet above the ground.
Clotheslines were stretched from
post to post at , ground level and
the tobacco cloth fastened to them
with clothespins. The result in
terms of crop was perfect. To be
sure, the hurricane which cause
along in late summer ripped the
cloth into strips but the picking
season was over then and I can buy
cloth fot-next year.
Certain planting procedures also
lead to increast harvest. I have
come to the conclusion that lettuce
plants' should stand a foot apart in
he row if they are to head well.
In order to gather lettuce all sum-
mer, I grow it in a coldframe,
which is not covered but does give
protection froze hot winds.
'' * *
Whether fall plowing or seeding
with a cover crop is the better
practice is still an open question.
One or the other is needed if the
garden slopes, for winter snow and
than is commonly realized. Plow-
ing leaves the ground rough and
probably destroys many insects,
they have been dug under in the
spring.
* * *
Early digging or ,,Plowing under
of the cover crop is important, A
neighbor who planted winter oats
let then grow until they resisted
all his efforts to turn then under
the soil. A power cultivator was
the last resort. Cover crops may
not be as satisfactory for the gar-
den which is started early. They
undoubtedly retard warming up of
the soil in spring. Yet I continue
to sow rye, perhaps because I like
to•look out on that pleasant patch
of green during the winter.
Even Chance: A store in New
Jersey has two large safes. One
contained $4,000 the other was
empty. Thieves worked for hours
on one, finally opened it—and drew
the blank.
$500 Per Night
For "Magical" Bea
A bed fitted with a motor, whlali
in the morning pounds the mate
tress until you are thrown out on
to the floor, is now being made
in Chicago. But novel beds arc
not a modern invention.
The main property in en ime
mense fraud was Dr. Graham's
"Celestial Bed," made by him in
1779. Costing $60,000, it was sup.
ported by twenty-eight glass pil-
lars and from its depths came the
strains of vocal and instrumental
music.
Graham claimed that childless
married couples would have heirs
as a result of sleeping on it, and
for this privilege he charged the
gullible $500 a night.
Bods which must have given
thicr- occupants nightmares were
designed by the ancient Egyptians,
who sculptured their couches in the
form of animals,
(hie such bed is half in the shape
of a ltippopotauuls and half like a
crocodile, with menacing teeth made
of ivory.
Bad dreams must also have been
the lot of those who slept in the
bed -chamber built for Metternich,
the European statesman, in 1820.
Two beds represented a grotto,
on which lizards. toads and bats
were modelled in gilt wood. Placed
in an alcove, they were lit by a
lamp in the form of an owl, the
light shining eerily through the
bird's eyes.
Eastern monarchs used to have
beds supplied for the use of more
than two people, and so, surpris-
ingly, did some of our own an-
cestors.
The Great Bed of Ware, built
in 1400 to the specifications of
Warwick, the King -maker, was
twelve foot square and seven and
a half feet in height. When it
stood in the "Saracen's Head" at
Ware for a time, as many as 12
people at once used to hire it.
Sometimes beds have played an
important part in public life. Car-
dinal Richelieu used to travel in
his.
Six men were needed to carry
the bed, which was so enormous
that the walls of a town had to
be breached to make room.
in fourteenth -century England,
when a prince or noble brought his
bride home, a beautifully decorated
bed was prepared by special offi-
dals. After the wedding night, this
bed was given to the officer who
had got it ready.
Beds have often been a source
of inspiration. Alexander the Great
lay on his couch to issue strategical
directions and not so long ago so
did Mr. Churchill.
In bed, the famous barrister, F.
E..Sneifil ,, wrote most of his books;
Milton thought out "Paradise Lost"
and Glinlca, Donizetti and Rossini
worked an their musical scores.
A pity that on these cold morn-
ings we can't all follow the ex-
ample set by these great men.
PERVERSE GENT
One cold morning the native was
seen, dressed in his nightshirt, vig-
orously chopping kindling. His
neighbour, amazed at the brevity
of the old man's clothing in such
severe weather, asked, "How
come?"
The man never missed a lick
in his chopping as he replied: "For
the last 70 years I have always
dressed by a fire, and I'll be dad
gummed if I'nm gonna stop now."
Nice Boost for Hospital --After making a tout of the new
hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, members of Rameses
Shrine presented a cheque for $6,000 to R. A. Laidlaw, chair-
man of the hospital board. This brought the total contribtution
of the Shriners to this institution over $110,000. Left to right
arc Shriners Alex ]3rown, Bill Corman, Bill (.allow, Potentate
S..i"itchener.-Smith, Shriner jack Ramsden, Mr. Laidlaw and.
Shriner Murdoch L. Marten, K.C.
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