126 
The Glad Philosopher’s 
Musings. | 
How hard it is to break away from 
the influence of superstitions, especially 
those that have followed us from child- 
hood. Although we have got beyond 
a belief in witches, ghosts and haunted 
houses, the evolution is all too slow, 
and some yet remain in fear of the 
thirteen hoodoo ; some still have faith 
in the revelations of the dream book, 
the Oija board and the divining rod ; 
and some continue to rely on the 
groundhog as a weather prognostica- 
tor. While we welcome the passing of 
these whimsical beliefs and fancies let 
us also remember that there is such a 
thing as becoming too materialistic. 
Those periods in the world’s history 
when art and poetry and literature 
reached their highest development are 
now known as the superstitious ages. 
The sublimity of Roman and Grecian 
mythology insures for it a lasting place 
in literature, and I hope we will never 
become so matter-of-fact as to demand 
the removal of fairies, elves and gob- 
lins from the literature of childhood, 
and of course we must never think of 
dispensing with dear old Santa Claus. 
We smile at the darkies’ belief that 
good luck will result from his carrying 
around the left hind foot of a rabbit 
that was killed in a cemetery in the 
dark of the moon, but is it any more 
ridiculous than carrying a horse-chest- 
nut in the pocket to ward off rheuma- 
tism ? Every bride rejoices if her wed- 
ding day be rainless, that her future 
may be a happy one ; and every girl 
who attends the wedding sees to it 
that a piece of the wedding cake is 
placed under her pillow to dream over. 
Of course, neither you nor I believe in 
any of these silly superstitions, and yet 
I am going to confess to a certain 
amount of satisfaction from getting my 
first glimpse of the new moon over my 
right shoulder; I like to occasionally 
find a so-called “four-leaf” clover; 
and there is a horse-shoe nailed over 
my barn door ! 
Scientists have long contended that 
the moon can have absolutely no 
influence on plant growth, but not- 
withstanding, the superstition clings 
tenaciously, and so there are many 
people who arrange their seed planting 
according to the moon’s phases or the 
“signs” as revealed by the patent 
medicine almanac. I once knew an 
old lady who always planted her flower 
seeds when the sign was in the “flower- 
girl,” and she never failed of success 
in growing flowers. I am inclined to 
believe, however, that her success 
would have been fully as great if she 
had consulted the previous year’s 
almanac by mistake. 
There is a logical reason for the suc- 
cess attending the planting of Sweet 
Peas on Good Friday. It gets them in 
the ground early, which is of greatest 
importance. It would be luckier still 
to plant them on St. Valentine’s Day, 
if the ground could be worked. 
Slower (Brower 
When failure follows our misguided 
effort, or results from ignorance or in- 
difference, how prone we are to charge 
it to bad luck ; but when success is at- 
tained, or if fortune smiles, then it is, 
as a matter of fact, the result of our 
skill, our wisdom, or our sagacity. 
I have no patience with those persons 
who are so conscientiously truthful 
that they cannot allow their children 
to enjoy the Santa Claus myth. I once 
knew such a man, and heard him de- 
clare that he would not permit his 
child to be so deceived. One day a 
firm from whom he bought goods made 
a mistake in the extension of one of 
their invoices, charging him a thousand 
dollars too little. A bookkeeper dis- 
covered it and called his attention to 
the error and asked if it should not be 
paid back. Did the ultra-scrupulous, 
tender-conscienced paragon of honor 
and veracity correct the mistake and 
pay it back ? Dear reader, you have 
already guessed correctly ! 
The Glad Philosopher. 
Potted Plants as War- 
time Christmas Gifts. 
[Continued from page 121.] 
and other suitable plants that can be 
more readily grown in the home win- 
dow garden, which will make a brave 
showing at Yule-tide and that can also 
be depended upon to thrive long after 
the holiday season is over. 
One of the easiest plants to grow 
and prepare for a gift is the Aspe- 
distra (sometimes called parlor palm.) 
To secure new plants, merely divide 
the root stalk of the parent plant, leav- 
ing a generous number of leaves to 
each division. One sturdy, well-grown 
Aspedistra will yield several very deco- 
rative gift plants that if purchased 
would cost considerable, as florists 
charge fifteen cents and upwards per 
leaf in pot. 
The justly popular Crab Cactus 
(Epiphyllum truncatum) bears a pro- 
fusion of bright, waxy flowers at the 
tips of its spineless, drooping branches. 
It blooms even more freely when pot- 
bound and because of its pleasing habit 
of blooming at Christmastide, this old- 
time favorite is widely and favorably 
known as the Christmas Cactus. 
“ Some rare purpose owns this flower— 
While outside snow flies and drifts — 
That it chooses Yuletide hour 
To display its crimson gifts. 
Though the winds blow, earth benumbing 
Wreathe the Holly through the rooms, 
For a glad, glad day is coming 
When the Christmas Cactus blooms.” 
— [Mary E. Van Zandt.] 
The plant is particularly satisfactory 
as it requires so little attention. It 
needs only ordinary care to be kept 
from freezing and it should be watered 
sparingly. Too much water and poor 
drainage result in the decay of the 
roots. To obtain new plants, insert 
well-grown branches in sandy soil and 
they will soon root, producing healthy, 
growing plants. On account of its 
graceful drooping habit of growth the 
Christmas Cactus is valuable and well 
adapted for use in a hanging basket 
or in a bracket pot. 
December, 1918 
Another old and desirable holiday 
pot-plant is the Jerusalem Cherry (Sol- 
anum pseudo-capsicum). A matured 
plant cut back and plunged out door 
in a shady place, in the spring will, if 
kept well watered, bloom and produce 
a second crop of bright, green berries, 
that will redden indoors by Christmas 
and last nearly all winter. Some of the 
seed contained in the showy, cherry- 
like fruit, if sown in the house in 
February and placed out doors in the 
spring will be ready for use for the 
next Christmas decorations. 
Few of the winter blooming pot- 
plants, can surpass in beauty and ease 
of culture the free-blooming varieties 
of Primroses. Though they prefer a 
rather cool, moist atmosphere, they 
will endure the unfavorable conditions 
of the living room and give joy for 
many a winter. Primroses can be 
readily grown from seeds sown in the 
spring. The young plants should be 
kept in a rather shady place until au- 
tumn and then repotted for winter 
blooming. The newer varieties of 
Primula obconica are certainly hand- 
some plants with their attractive foli- 
age and beautiful flowers borne on 
long, graceful stems. However, it has 
been said that Primula obconica affects 
some persons somewhat like poison ivy. 
As far as my limited experience ex- 
tends, it is harmless, but in handling 
this particular variety, it might be 
wise to be careful not to bruise the 
foliage, especially not the root. 
Blooming bulbs in pots or pans have 
long been extremely popular for decor- 
ations at the Christmas season, but 
there are comparatively few sorts of 
Dutch bulbs that can be forced into 
bloom as early as Christmas, and these 
should be started in September or early 
in October. But a dainty Christmas 
box containing a few dormant bulbs 
of the Sacred Lily, Paper White Nar- 
cissis or other choice bulbs, with di- 
rections for growing and a Chinese 
pottery bowl in which to grow them, 
makes a charming and acceptable 
Christmas gift, giving the fortunate 
recipient hours of joy in watching the 
mystery of the unfolding life within. 
The choice of gift plants may be a 
matter of taste or of convenience. If 
one is successful in the culture of any 
particular variety of plants, start good 
sized cuttings or divisions, so that they 
may be well-rooted and of generous 
proportions by the holiday season. 
Fit a piece of green crepe paper neatly 
around the pot, stretch the top and 
bottom edges of the paper through the 
fingers to “flute” them, tie a red rib- 
bon with bow around the paper cov- 
ered pot, attach a bright Christmas 
tag, and the most ordinary variety of 
plant, if healthy and well-grown, will 
at once assume a decidedly decorative, 
festive air and be ready to fulfill the 
mission of conveying anew the old- 
time message. “ Glory to God in the 
highest, and on earth, peace, good will 
toward men.” 
Owing to war-time conditions many 
commercial Gladiolus growers are not 
issuing catalogues this year. Some 
are issuing instead small price lists. 
