Going up the mountain road a young rabbit crossed in front of me. He was in no hurry and as he looked me over seemed to say, “I know you won’t hurt me, so I’ll just take my good old time to cross this road.”

About a half a mile farther a large gray squirrel scampered in front of me. He was there and then gone like a flash. A few feet farther on the storm which had been threatening all afternoon let loose with a heavy downpour. I hurried to a big pine tree and stood under its protecting branches until the rain ceased, then followed the road to the top of the mountain. There, the sun was shining brightly and birds singing all around me.

I left the road and started thru the woods picking huckleberries in every small clearing. All at once I spied a plant I had not seen for several years. It was Indian Pipe, also called Ghost-Flower, Ice-Plant, Corpse-Flower. Its botanical name is Monotropa Uniflora. Its preferred habitat is the heavily shaded, moist rich woods, especially under pine and oak trees. Its flowering season is June until August and takes me back to some of my favorite backyard designs. Its distribution is almost throughout North America. These plants on an average grow about four to ten inches high with several stalks to a clump. There were about thirty clumps and were the largest I have ever seen. One clump had thirteen scapes and was fourteen inches high.

I know this plant is a branded sinner because it is a ghoulish parasite, colorless in every part, waxy, cold and clammy, with no leaves, only scaly bracts. This pirate has no chlorophyll because it lives on juices of living plants or on decaying matter of dead ones. So by draining the already digested food of its neighbors it has lost its desire to seek food from the soil. To look at this weirdly beautiful plant, one would never think that it is related to some of our most beautiful flowers – the rhododendrons, the laurels, the azaleas. It s botanical name means a flower once turned, and, as if it realizes its wickedness, it turns black with shame after being picked.

It reminded me of an old Indian legend about Ghost Pipes. It seems that once upon a time a lot of Indian chiefs attended a council and alter ail the council affairs were settled, they knocked the ashes out of their pipes and departed. Next year the Ghost-Pipes came up where the chiefs emptied their pipes. As I gazed on the magnificent display around be I thought of this old legend and wondered how many chiefs had attended at this council.

I returned home with a pail full of huckleberries and very well pleased with my walk, even though 1 was slightly damp.

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When the seedlings flower, the hybridizer immediately discards all undesirable individuals, such as plants that are not an improvement over the parents. With the now greatly reduced number, the grower is faced with the problem of final selection, and this usually involves the virtually impossible task of picking the best three or four from among hundreds of outstanding specimens.

It was at this point that we broke away from traditional horticultural practices, (sort of like the artificial grass not being really horticulture) – and decided that, since each remaining plant was of each excellence, the entire group would be introduced as a strain of closely related plants, all of similar habit and form and possessed of a nice range of colors. Not only does this method of introduction result in immediate presentation of the new lilies to gardening America at a modest price, but it also permits the grower to constantly improve the strain by pollinating only the very best specimens each year and thus annually to advance the quality of the entire group.

Some of these strains are:

Bellingham Hybrids – This is essentially a continuation of the inter crossing of lilies originally developed by Dr. Griffith. The group is most valuable to the gardener because it combines the lovely colors and graceful forms of native American species with the ease of culture and handling of hybrids. These lilies are particularly outstanding for cut flower purposes and for naturalizing.

Centifoliiim Olympic Hybrids – Already available in quantity, these are a major improvement over L. regale. They flower later and are characterized by much larger, well-placed flowers varying in form from the long funnel-type trumpet to wide, bowl-shaped flowers resembling the shape of L. auratum. The attractive cream, yellow and wine shading has been intensified and, in many instances, the entire flower is flushed with color. A recent break has produced large centifolium flowers deeply stained fuchsia pink. Another form, scheduled for early introduction, has dark orange and apricot throats. The latter are among the latest flowering types of the trumpet class, coming into bloom about the same time as L. henryi.

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Working with the upright-flowering, elegans-umbellatum types, Mr. Slate has produced some desirable improvements. Over the years writers were privileged to grow and observe a score of Mr. Slate’s selected seedlings. The bright, unspotted yellow and the vivid, non-fading red forms were outstanding. In addition to this class, Mr. Slate introduced the variety Seneca, an outward facing hybrid between L. tigrinum and L. leichtlini var. maximowiezi.

One of the greatest of all accomplishments in modern lily growing is the mass production of the most exotic of lilies, the L. auratum, the gold-banded lily, so bright and cheerful, sort of daytime natural landscape lighting.

Some sixty years ago Alwyne Buckley of British Columbia, Canada, sowed a quantity of seed and succeeded in maturing the largest single planting of this lily ever to be grown from seed. Mr. Buckley named his strain the Esperanza Auratums and the bulbs were available in the United States and Canada. His accomplishment is an outstanding example of the desirability and superior vigor and performance of well-grown domestic stock as compared to bulbs collected and imported from overseas.

Other new developments are under way at the Bulb Farms where, under the direction of many hybridizers, the breeding and growing of lilies has become a major project. With a planting of some 30 acres, it is, probably, the largest commercial garden lily planting in the world. There much has been done to change the pattern of varietal introduction by the production of strains which are essentially mixed – selected seedlings of similar or related types, usually of the same parentage.

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A Secondary Consideration

To the nurseryman who sells plants largely on the strength of their display value, flowers are all important. But to the landscape designer whose reputation and livelihood depend on how well satisfied the customer is with his landscape plans after they have been executed, the flower shrubs and vines do not mean much. He realizes that, on the majority of plants, they last for only a week or two, and the owner must enjoy the plant itself for the rest of the year. Therefore, he is more interested in form and texture than in flowers.

The novice garden maker should likewise try to control his emotions lest he sacrifice a pleasant year-round effect for the sake of a few weeks of spectacular flower display. That is why solar garden lights are an excellent addition to the landscape garden.

Valueless Plants

Fortunately, not many shrubs and vines that are popular because of their flowering habits are actually ugly after they finish flowering. But a few are practically useless as far as landscape value goes once their flowering period is over. Nevertheless, if you want such plants in your garden, use them where after they bloom, they will not have to play a major part in the design.

There are, for example, some species of Mockorange (Philadelphus) that for the average small home grounds are simply too large and overpowering. If kept pruned to a suitable size for such places, they are likely to become leggy at the bottom or extremely heavy at the top.

So if you insist on having one or two such plants in your garden for the sake of their flowers, it would be well to use them in the back of a shrub border; the tops would be seen and appreciated during the flowering season, and during the rest of the year the unsightly lower portion would be hidden by the shrubs in front of them.

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There are six main points to keep in mind: proper light, humidity, planting soil, watering, feeding and pests.

African violets like light. A little sun, preferably in the early morning or late afternoon will help produce bloom, but the plants should be shielded from the midday sun, especially during the summer months. They can also do well grown under artificial light.

Humidity is another important requirement. This can be provided by standing the pots on pebble-filled trays of water so that evaporation adds moisture to the air around the plants. Care should he taken that the base of each pot is above water level. Mechanical humidifiers may also be used to increase the air moisture where their expense is warranted when large numbers of plants are grown. An occasional spraying with warm water will be a special treat for your plants but keep them out of the sun until they have dried.

The best soil for potting African violets is one that is rich and loose and can be found at your local garden center. I use a mixture of equal parts soil, coarse sand. humus and 1A-part well rotted manure. Leafmold or peatmoss may be substituted for the humus. I add a 4-inch potful of superphosphate and a quart of granulated charcoal to each bushel of soil. The soil mixture should be sterilized. This can be done by baking moist soil in a 250-degree oven for one hour.

Watering needs careful attention! Remember not to over-water African violets for it can be fatal. The soil should be kept damp or moist, not sopping wet.

When the soil feels dry, apply tepid water from above, avoiding the crown and leaves. Or water from below by placing the pot in a container of water until moisture begins to show on the soil surface. A half-inch of small limestone chips in the bottom of the pot will help drain off excess water.

African violets are not heavy feeders but some nourishment is appreciated. This gives the plants a boost but it must not be overdone for harm can result. About once a month I use a complete plant food dissolved in water according to manufacturer’s directions. When this is applied keep it off the foliage.

Few insects attack African violets but those which do are persistent and prolific. The most common is mealybug. This looks like a tiny white cottonball. Each insect should be touched with a cotton-tipped skewer dipped in rubbing alcohol. This will eradicate them if the treatment is regular and persistent.

The most recent threat to African violets is nematodes. These minute worms attack and destroy the roots, making small knots or nodules on them in the process. There is no sure cure for a nematode infection and it is best to isolate or destroy affected plants.

New African violet varieties are being developed to such an extent that no one, I believe, will ever again be able to say exactly how many there are. Growers are carrying on a big program of hybridizing, producing an unbelievable array of new colors and color combinations in both single and double blooms.

African violets are easily one of the most popular house plant. They bloom constantly all year, they’re neat and compact in appearance and fit easily into the decorative scheme of any room. Truly these saintpaulias are a heaven-sent gift to those of us who like blooming plants the year round!

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The plant is a dark green plant about the height of zinnia plants. In June or early July each branching stem ends in whorl of dominantly fire scarlet floral leaves. This plant likes full sun and sandy soil with bonemeal but will grow in very poor soil but the coloring is not as good. My neighbor grows them in very rocky soil but her plants do not grow as large as mine did and not as many cut flowers as I had.

If given some water they will reward you to their fullest. They are drought resistant if in good soil. This Euphorbia makes a wonderful cut flower as they last for weeks indoors. They are very interesting as the seeds pop as they ripen and the little black seeds will be found in the most unsuspecting places, so you see if you once grow them you will never have to plant them again but they do get to the pest stage. When the plants are one-half foot high, pinch the top out so they won’t get leggy. Plant 18 inches apart.

They remain pretty all summer and fall, only the frost destroys them while they are still at their best. This plant is disease resistant and pests do not like it as it has a milky substance when cut, also the plants do not brown like Zinnias. Euphorbia Marginata (Snow on the Mountain) grows wild in some localities and is very pretty with its white leaves. I have been inclined to shun it as I have been told it is poison. Not something we plan including as a part of our backyard landscaping. Euphorbia Polyhromia is a hardy perennial In spring the plants are 16 inch globes of golden floral leaves that look like flowers which are followed by lots of odd seed capsules in gayest red. The plants turn a rich crimson in autumn.

Euphorbia Cyparissas is 10 inches. Nice ground cover or rock garden plant. Myrsintes Euphorbia is 8 inches, fat stems set with blue green foliage good rock garden plant also.

Euphorbia Corallata is 28 inches high, airy panicals of little white flowers desirable in the border. By all means try some of these interesting plants especially Euphorbia Heterrophylia or Polyhromia.

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Basic Water Pipe Repair Many of the foreclosed homes that I encounter have sat over the winter and the cold weather has burst water pipes in the basement and walls. Usually the hardest part of the repair is finding all the leaks. You do this by turning on the water, listening for falling water, then visually inspecting where the water is coming from. Once you find the leak, cut out the old section of pipe and cut a section of new pipe to replace it. Rough up the end of the old and new sections of pipe with your sandpaper. Apply flux to each section of pipe and to a coupler that will be used to join the pieces. Put the new section in place. Heat the coupler with your butane torch and apply solder around the edges of the coupler. The flux will melt creating a vacuum inside the coupler and drawing the solder inside. Once it is sealed all the way around, allow the solder to dry and move on to the next leak. If you are worried about using a butane torch on this project, ask your hardware professional about Shark-Bite fixtures.

Drain Repair Clogged drains are a very common problem. When a working drain gets clogged, Draino or a quick snake will often do the trick. If that doesn’t work, unscrew the drainpipe and inspected for clogs. In a vacant house, a clog can become impenetrable. If you encounter such a clog, you need to cut it out and replace that section of drain. Once the clog is cut out, cut a similar length of PVC pipe to replace it. Either connect the new pipe to the old with PVC connectors or with a fernco connector. If you use the PVC connectors make sure that you clean the old pipe thoroughly and apply PVC cement to ensure a proper seal. Many plumbers apply pvc cement or pipe dope even if the pieces they are putting together are threaded.

Replacing Light Fixtures Remove the old fixture by unscrewing the wire nuts or by cutting the wires. Strip off a section of the wire casing and attach you new fixture with wire nuts. Be sure to tape off any exposed wire with electrical tape. Since each fixture will come with its own set of instructions, be sure to read those instructions thoroughly to insure proper installation. Electricity can cause severe injury if you do not follow instruction implicitly. You should always use an amplitude meter to insure that power is off to the fixture to avoid electrocution.

Window Installation To measure your window, open it all the way and measure from inside of the window casing. Buy your new window as close as possible. Remember, you can make up for a window that is too small, but it is much harder to expand an opening for a window that is too big.. Next, remove the old window, making sure not to damage the wood frame. Once the window is removed place wood shims on the sill and level the shims. Once the shims are level secure them in place with screws (drilling pilot holes will keep the shims from splitting). Put the new window in place. At the sash, place more wood shims between the wood frame and the window to fill that gap, and then secure the shims in place by screwing through the window frame and into the wood frame. Repeat this step about six inches from the top and six inches from the bottom of the sides. Once the sides are secure, make sure you can easily open and close the window. Fill the gaps around the window with expanding foam insulation.

Refinishing Wood Floors I rent a lot of the homes that I rehab. If I re-carpet, I will probably have to o it again after the first tenant moves out. If I refinish the hardwood floors, I can re-rent it over and over without much hassle. Remove all of the tack strips, staples, nails and quarter round molding. Once the floor is clean, run your drum sander with the grain of the wood. Working a drum sander is a lot like working a self-propelled lawn mower. It is very important that you keep the drum sander moving at all times though. If you leave it sit it will quickly eat into the floor. I start with 36-grit sandpaper, then 80-grit, and then 100-grit. Once the main body of the floor is sanded, do the edges with an edge sander using the same grits of sandpaper that you used on the main floor. When all the sanding is complete, sweep the floor, and then vacuum the floor. After vacuuming, I like to lightly mop the entire floor. Allow the floor to dry then apply a stain of your choice. Allow to dry then coat with 2 – 3 layers of polyurethane. Then replace the molding.

Laying Tile Start by removing the old coverings whenever possible. Once the old covering has been removed put down a cement backer board over the entire area to be tiled. Fill in the joints of the backerboard with mortar. Begin tile installation by troweling on a thin application of mastic over a three to four foot area. Set the tile in place and push gently to secure the position. Continue in this fashion until the tiles are all in place. Allow the mastic to dry for 24-hours before grouting. If you are laying a natural stone tile be sure to seal the tile prior to grouting. If you don’t, the tile will appear hazy. Remove all tile spacers. Mix the grout and push the grout into the seams using a rubber float. Immediately wipe up excess grout with a damp sponge. After an hour or so, wipe down the tile with a piece of cheesecloth to get rid of the haze on the surface.

Texturing a Ceiling Ever wonder how those skilled craftsmen got your ceilings textured so randomly yet so perfect. It’s easy, and there is very little skill involved. Dip a paint roller with a long (4 foot) handle into a bucket of top-coating mud. Roll the mud onto the ceiling. Cover a ten-foot by ten-foot area. Push your texturing brush into the mud and pull back quickly to create a random (yet perfect) dimple pattern all across your ceiling. After it dries finish by painting with a white ceiling paint. (Note: This project can be messy. Either do it before you put your floors in or cover them completely. )

Painting a Room Two tools that will make painting a room faster, easier and produce a better result are an orbital sander and a power sprayer. Use the orbital sander to smooth out any surface imperfections. Once the walls are smooth, start spraying. First, spray the walls, and ceilings with a coat of latex based primer. Next spray your ceiling with a white ceiling paint. Then spray your walls with a flat paint. Flat paint is the best choice for hiding small imperfection in your walls surface. Be sure to follow the sprayer with a roller to produce the best results. For a great finished look, be sure to apply a fresh coat of white semi-gloss paint to all trim.

Landscaping Most foreclosed houses have neglected exteriors. This is a key area in reselling or renting out your house. The exterior is the first impression people will get of your house. Most of the time, I remove all the overgrown 1950’s era plants and replace them. If there are any good plants in the landscape, I try to remove them in a way that they can be re-used in the landscape. If they are too large to remove, prune them to improve their appearance. After removing the old shrubs, cultivate the bed and mix in organic materials like manure, compost or peat moss. Arrange your new plants on top of the beds. Once you are happy with the arrangement, remove any burlap or plastic and plant them. Be sure not to bury the root balls of shrubs. You want to plant the shrub with just a little of the ball showing above the ground surface. Follow spacing instruction on the containers so that your new landscape doesn’t look like overgrown in two years.

Erin Cuerton is the Lead Partner or Cuerton Property Alliance. He recomends ohio roofers. If you need a Cleveland Flat Roof quote contact Cleveland Oh Roofing

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The new top can hardly be told from a natural one that had not been trained to do its part better. It now is about three feet high from the place it started to grow from a side branch into a top. Now, if I had been careless – like not wearing my prescription safety glasses before starting to use my cutting tools and not cut the top down to a sturdy branch, the stub of top left would have prevented the side branch from taking the place of the old one, and the tree would have been three feet lower with no new top at all, for a new top does not grow to replace the old one unless it is cut down to a strong side branch which begins at once to start upward.

The growth last summer showed a decided tendency to turn up, but it took two years before it was just as straight and neat as a top that had always been as this now is. I am very proud of that tree – which really is made up in the first place of three small Chinese arborvitaes which I grew in a row from baby evergreens. But they were too close together as they got larger for I was ill and unable to transplant them farther apart at the right time.

When we moved I brought those three one sided evergreens and set them together making it look like a good single specimen – which I think a fine way to use such trees as they soon grow as one and few would notice the difference. I have two other sets of such trees where I set two evergreens in each with flat side caused by crowding in row when young. And now three years later, one could not wish to see finer trees, each set is just like one perfect specimen tree, thick and beautiful.

On some of these trees I have planted moon flowers or fine type morning glories to climb on them – and many stop to see the evergreens with the blooming vines climbing over them. And about the base I have small barberry – to keep dogs away, then plant bright-colored flowers as balsams or petunias as a color contrast against the evergreens. Try this for effect.

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The requisite leaf mold is to be found in any woodland, regardless of where one may live. The deeper it is around the rocks and stumps, in old swamps, and by ponds and streams, the more lush it is in the required nutrients of rexes. This material, as it is taken from the woodlands, needs to be finely sifted to remove all fibrous roots, unrottcd leaves, sticks and stones. That which remains is soft, black and velvety to the touch, the basis for the potting medium. To four parts of leaf mold, add one part of very old finely sifted cow manure, one part of sifted sand (not sea sand!) and a handful of charcoal. A handful of bone meal is beneficial. All these ingredients must be thoroughly mixed together and the hand-over-hand method proves for me to be the best and safest, for the hands will detect any coarse materials that might have escaped the sifting. Get the “feel” that the mixture is uniform. After mixing these ingredients, moisten thoroughly so that all of the medium is damp, but not wet. Now the potting process is really ready to begin.

At no time should a rex begonia be allowed to become dry. These begonias demand moisture from the soil at the top of the pot to that at the bottom. At no time should the mixture be drippy wet. Do not allow the pots to sit in unused water for any length of time, for such will cause root rot. Water thoroughly each time (never just the top soil). Water again when the soil at the top is slightly crumbly to the touch. The water used should be slightly tepid so that the tender root system does not become shocked and chilled by cold temperatures such as would come from the ordinary faucet, especially in winter.

The one thing I learned when I first had rexes was that they resent cold, wet feet, and remembering that, I advise that they be watered in the daytime rather than at night, especially during the colder months. Daytime temperatures usually dry off excess moisture and warm up the soil, thus creating a warm evaporation of moisture up around the leaves. Yet, if a rex is dry, it should be watered regardless of the time of the day. Plants watered at night are mac susceptible to Botrytis blight, and if the weather is cool, be sure the plant is well drained and not left standing in water overnight.

Watering from the top causes no injury and it is quicker than placing the pots in water to soak up the moisture. If a plant is not receiving thorough saturation of the soil, it may show signs of dryness by a lack of growth and eventual drooping and dropping of the leaves.

Humidity

Humidity is definitely required by rexes at all times. In fact, all begonias need it. Humidity needs for house plants can be easily provided. During the summer time, the windows are open and moisture in the air is provided in the natural way. Even then, during the day when there is hot, drying air stirring, humidity can be given by spraying with a fine mist of water, or setting the pots on moist pebbles, sand or vermiculite. If one sprays the leaves, care should be taken to keep the plants out of direct sunlight until the moisture has dried. In the winter I supply the humidity by my cooking, washing dishes and having a bubbling teakettle on my stove all through the day.

Rexes require fresh air as much as people. If they are on the window sill, it is best not to have that window open at the bottom, because the winds and hot air of summer will take moisture out of the leaves and cause browning. In the winter the air is too chill. Open the window at the top, or allow fresh air to come from another window, thus coming to the plants indirectly.

Bright light and some sun is needed by all rexes at all times to help keep the leaf colors bright. The sun (and fresh air) helps to prevent fungus problems. Many varieties can gracefully accept the early to mid-morning sun, and late afternoon sun in summer, and in winter, here in New England, I find many varieties will accept, and be most happy, in full winter sun. (Especially the darker-toned ones, such as ‘King Edward.’) Some of the silvery-toned ones are likely to burn (`Can-Can’), but if given the mid-morning sun, they will respond with lustrous sheen. The sun does much in deepening of the color tones in rex leaves.

Propagation

Rexes can be propagated by various methods. The leaves may be rooted in water, or in a mixture of leaf mold and sand. The rooting medium must be just nicely moist, and the leaves must have a high percentage of humidity while they are first rooting. The plantlets come up in much the same way as do African violets. For the first potting I prefer to use pure leaf mold and two or 2-1/2-inch pots. I prefer clay pots, though other growers praise plastic pots. After potting, the young plants are watered thoroughly, allowed to drain well, and then set back into shady quarters for a few days so that they will have a chance to start new growth. Young plants will thrive if the small pots are grouped together and snuggled into moist leaf mold or peat moss.

Experienced rex begonia growers often propagate from wedges of the leaves. Add that to your group of backyard landscaping ideas. You’ll need a sharp paring knife and a pair of keen-edged shears. The knife is for cutting the leaves from the plant, and cutting away the leaf stem about one-fourth to one-half inch from the sinus, for it is from the sinus that the rootlets of the new plants grow. With the shears the wedges are shaped – meaning to cut away the excess leaf.

The wedges need to be three inches high at the most. Some people make them triangular, some apple-shaped, but the shape of the wedge has no bearing on the fruitfulness of it. (I once presumed it did!) When the wedges are shaped, usually the cut stem and sinus is dipped into a hormone powder, then carefully inserted into the rooting medium to just above the sinus, sprayed in gently but thoroughly with tepid water to settle the medium. At no time should the medium become dry. Put the tray of wedges where it will receive uniform warmth, night and day, but no direct sun. The rooting process is usually quicker if they are kept uncovered, especially in the summer when there are usually spells of very humid weather. Wedges left uncovered are much less likely to rot before roots have a chance to form.

Leaves used for propagation, and especially for wedges, must be strong and healthy. If one wishes to lay a rex leaf on any rooting medium, best results are obtained by thoroughly moistening the medium first, and draining off any excess moisture. Fine cuts may be made in the large veins on the back of a rex leaf, the cuts treated with hormone powder and the leaf laid carefully and smoothly on the rooting medium. It is then pinned down carefully (I use hairpins) so as not to penetrate the cut veins.

Leaves rooted in water should be potted as soon as the roots are an inch long.

I’m afraid I like ALL rex begonias, but my favorites are the colorful ones that have personality plus. Yes, I am a rex begonia hobbyist, addict could be the word, for I enjoy them to the utmost. The more I have the more I want, and so it will be with you!

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It said it is a wild plant away down there, but I do not find it mentioned in “Gray’s Botany of Field and Forest.” But the other book says it is a member of the Spiderwort family or Tradescantia group. It also is mentioned in a Garden Encyclopedia. It has thick grass-like leaves almost 2 inches broad, purple underneath and is quite interesting as the cradles with small white flowers in them are formed at the base of the leaves and resemble a baby in a cradle, hence the name.

I find these cradles form readily if the plant is doing well and the white flowers finally dry up and turn to small bulblets which when taken off and planted grow into new plants. But at first for some time I did not have any luck with them, but recently the little plants are coming up thick. In fact, I have been using them as a ground cover around our malibu lights.

One may readily see the resemblance to the spiderwort as they grow in a similar manner, with the flowers forming at the base of the leaves. But in this particular plant they grow in a cute little cradle about 2 inches long with sides to it; and the bottom of the cradle is fastened to the base with a sort of stem which makes the cradle loose so it may be moved about, yet holds on.

The little bulblets seem to have a handle or root extending to one side. I simply drop them in the pot near the mother plant and cover lightly and in due time they begin to grow into new plants which may be reset in other containers. If you want something different and interesting, why not try this unusual houseplant? It is easy to grow and unlike most others to be found elsewhere. I have tried to start it from leaf cuttings but they did not root, so the other way is better, as it works.

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