Brunswick Between Bookends By Eugene Fallon LUSTY WIN'D FOR CARO LINA. By Inglls Fletcher. Bnbbs-Merrill Co., New York. 509 pp. Here's an historical ramance literally woven about Brunswick County and its environs includ ing Wilmington. It is a tried and true formulae by a real profes sional weaver of magic, but Mrs. Fletcher needs no introduction in this column. The book itself was written while its author lived at Claren don Plantation, which, Mrs. Flet cher writes, “ was the locale for a portion of Lusty Wind." Lusty Wind, published during World War II. was the third in a series of novels about Colonial North Carolina: the first two be ing “Raleigh's Eden" and “Men of Albemarle", and whereas the last-named probably exceeded Lusty Wind in sales, its locale was a few miles too far north along this coast to excite the interest of Brunswick citizens a notori ously clannish group of readers. Outside of its pertinent locale, the book can scarcely fail to in terest any reader—what with its pirates, bold seafarers; its haugh ty ladies, like Don Quixote’s Dul cinea “the fairest of the fair”. The winds indeed are lusty and perfumed alike: there is an al mighty striving, a love affair or two, sea-pursuits and the bagging of the bloodthirsty Stede Bonnet, right at the mouth of the Cape Fear River opposite Southport. The author writes with charm of a charming land and never succumbs to that odious wading through magnolias waist-high, which characterizes so many novels with a Deep South theme Mrs. Fletcher rather flings a rec rose—vigorous and scarlet, as ol blood and action—instead of an ^ anaemic lily. In other words Mrs. Fletcher’s South is always be lievable—and always well read. To the author's credit is the fact that she is a product of the prairie country—Galesburg, 111.— where blows never the jessamine or nary a magnolia bud; a land which has given the world Carl Sandburg, Vachel Lindsay and Edgar Lee Masters. A fugitive ! from ice and blizzards, Mrs. Fletcher not only adopted East ern North Carolina many years ago, but has managed to capture its peculiar appeal and present ! it to millions of readers. The writer is proud of the fact that he possesses a speaking acquaint ance with the lady. Carolina has need of many such expatriates. If you haven’t already read Lusty Wind, and would like a corking good yarn set in such settlements as Charles Town, Old Brunswick, etc., you cannot go wrong with this tale of Brunswick between 1718 and 1725. The romantic, Southern novel, here highly recommended, is avail able at the Southport Public Li brary. Garden Time By M. E. GARDNER if. C. State College This is a good seasop for get | ting the pruning chores behind ! you. Practically all tr ees and | shrubs may be pruned yow—ex ! cept the early blooming, shrubs, i which should not be pruned until j after they flower next spring. Prune with a purpose rather than butcher with a vengeance. Muscadine, (“Scuppernong”) PONTIAC TEMPEST GMC Trucks COMPLETE BODY & PAINT DEPARTMENT Factory Trained MECHANICS LEWIS GODWIN—SOUTHPORT REPRESENTATIVE Harris Pontiac, Inc. 311 N. 2nd St. Wilmington, N. C. RO 3-8231 jrapes pruned now will not bleed is badly as if pruned later in the winter or early spring. Old peach and apple trees may be pruned rather heavily if they have been neglected. Perhaps some evergreen shrubs Slave gotten unruly and need at tention—ligustrum, Burfordi hol lies and others. If they have been neglected, don't try to correct all at once but rather gradually over a yfear or two. If you ever let pyracantha get out of hand you are in trouble unless it has plen ty of room and needs little or no pruning. Keep these plants shap 3d to suit your notion as they >l'OW. Someone asked the other day about the best time to prune crepe myrtles. Now. if they need it. Usually this plant is pruned very little. This is planting time, too. for all trees and shrubs. Fruit trees and grape vines will have naked roots, so don’t let them dry out before planting. For these types, dig a hole plenty large enough to prevent crowding of the roots, deep enough so that the plant is set 3lightly deeper than it stood in the nursery row, and wide enough for your feet. When digging separate top and sub-soil so that the top soil can t>e placed around the roots, cover roots thoroughly and shake tree gently up and down to settle the soil. Add more soil and pack with your feet. Continue this operation until within about four inches of the top of the hole, then throw in loose soil. Equal volume of peat mixed with the top soil is a good prae :ice. Shrubs that are balled and bur apped can be planted any time luring the year, as can nursery stock in cans. Be sure not to work soil when it is wet. If plants are received when soil is wet or frozen, put them in a protected place and cover the roots or ball with old sawdust. A reminder. Azaleas and ca mellias will not tolerate deep slanting. For these plants, leave the top of the ball of dirt around the roots even with the soil sur face. Use equal volumes of peat and soil to fill the hole and mulch with pine straw. Bald Head Continued Frojn Page 1 flared war on- Imperial Germany. There are only three houses left on Bald Head today, those and the abandoned coast guard - station, only one of the houses is fit for habitation. Reese Swan’s i duties as caretaker is to keep hunters from burning down the I forests and depleting the numer ous small game. It is lonely enough—gas lanterns for Uhimin- j ation; gas cook stove, gas re-' frigerator; gasoline-powered wa-! ter pump. But Reese is a son of 1 Bald Head; was practically raised on the island. Ask for Swans, father and son, and they'll tell you Bald Head Island is a completely enchanted bit of North Carolina. If the ru mors materialize, loneliness will dwell no longer on an island four miles out from Southport, and i Myrtle Beach will have a rival worthy of its steel. Waterfront Continued From Page 1 slowed down off the Southport city dock long enough for a small boat to come over the aide and let a man come ashore. Once more we sought a natural ex planation, and said that it prob ably was a pilot being let off here. But Monday afternoon the truth was out. The Gerig came into the river and moored off the Wells Dock at the foot of At lantic Avenue. It made us con scious again of what a shame it: is that here in Southport we have ; no dock where a vessel of this i size can tie up so the crew can j come ashore. Then sometime after midnight l Monday we were awakened with i staccato blasts from a boat whis- I tie, and we thought a freighter j oi a tanker must be headed for1 shore. In our sleepy stupor, we1 finally figured out that the whistle i probably was that of the Gerig, and that some trouble was being experienced in collecting the crew for returning to work after being anchored off Southport for sever al hours. Of course, Tuesday morning the whistle alarm was explained when Chief Burt Briquette of Oak Is land Coast Guard Station report ed the rescue of a man from the river before day. No body ever would have known what happened to him had it not been for the fact that the Gerig had spent the night in the river where the look out spotted the man as he was being swept out to sea and gave the alarm. 1 • “Wrinkle-free” washing • Triple-action rinsing • Partial load control • 10-lb. tub capacity Model LW025 1