The Plants Adapt: The plants adapt to most any soil, only needing moisture at the roots. They are called lungwort according to the Doctrine of Signatures, medieval medical practice wherein various plants were used to cure diseases indicated by the form and color of their leaves, roots, or flowers. The leaves of lungwort were thought to look like lung tissue. Mature plants are 1 foot high and have a 3-foot spread. To cover ground quickly, plant them 9 inches apart. P. officinalis var. immaatlata has plain green leaves. The plants are hardy in Zone 4 and will also do well in medium shade.
The hostas (Hosta spp.) are probably one of the most popular plants of today. Their willingness to thrive in the shade, coupled with the variety of available leaf shapes and colors, plus the benefit of blossoms, has catapulted hostas to the top of every gardener's want list. The blue-leaved types ('Blue Angel' and 'Blue Moon', for exam¬ple) will do well in medium shade, but will even live in full shade. The greens ('Green Fountain' and 'Green Wedge') adapt from me¬dium shade to full sun, and the variegated types ('Resonance' and Trances Williams') prefer shade. Space plants 12 to 24 inches apart, depending on their ultimate size and, if you don't wish to disturb them for years, just let them be. They will grow happily for decades.See Also Certain Plants Can Convert:Although this is still true in most cases, recent developments have shown that there are further exceptions and that nitrogen molecules are considerably more "sociable" than previously thought.
It should be noted that from a purely practical point of view, the problem of fixing nitrogen has been satisfactorily solved. In nature, bacteria living on the roots of certain plants can convert elemental nitrogen into compounds that are re¬leased into the soil, from which plants then absorb them. Animals in turn eat the plants, or eat animals that eat the plants, and this com¬bined nitrogen thus becomes generally available to living organisms.
The most interesting developments during the past year have been in devices to assist the Blind in reading printed text. International Busi¬ness Machines Corporation (IBM) introduced an electric typewriter that produces Braille text (a system of raised dots) and several other or¬ganizations began working on computer-con¬trolled systems to convert printed text automati¬cally to various forms of Braille. In spite of the promise of these improvements over the tradi¬tional, manual printing of Braille, however, there remained a need for an electronic device that would convert print directly into a nonvisual means of communication.
On The Other Hand See Left On Plants Decay:Regularly removing dead flowers—or "deadheading"—encourages the devel¬ opment of further buds and prolongs the display. Blooms left on plants decay and encourage the onset of diseases. Where plants have long flower-stalks, cut these back to the base. Where flowers are borne in tight clusters close to the main stem, use scissors to cut them off. Pick up all the dead flowers and place them on a compost pile. Left among the plants, they en- Deadhead plants courage diseases.
Regularly removing dead flowers—or "deadheading"—encourages the devel¬ opment of further buds and prolongs the display. Blooms left on plants decay and encourage the onset of diseases. Where plants have long flower-stalks, cut these back to the base. Where flowers are borne in tight clusters close to the main stem, use scissors to cut them off. Pick up all the dead flowers and place them on a compost pile. Left among the plants, they en- Deadhead plants courage diseases.
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