\Tap water harmful to plants;
rainwater, leaching can help
By NANCY WEATHERLEY
Battalion Reporter
Growing plants sometimes re-
|uires a little more than just a
een thumb, especially in Col-
ge Station. Certain chemicals in
|ryan/College Station tap water
an hurt plants, but a few tricks
' ne ig!i rill help keep them healthy.
Edward McWilliams, professor
if floriculture at Texas A&M Uni-
ersity, said that College Station
rater, which is obtained by near
ly natural aquifers, has a high
, «odium and chloride content.
^ Together, these two elements
^'"■nake com non table salt. “Besides
he salt problem, we don’t have
he element calcium which plants
leed,” McWilliams said. “This
[gj ireates an imbalance of chemicals
n College Station water which
iffects the plants.”
Many people use distilled water
avoid the salt problem
together. McWilliams has de-
nonstrated that College Station
ap water has 100 times as much
salt as distilled water.
However, for people who don’t
want to spend money each week
on distilled water, McWilliams
offered some advice. “The addi
tion of gypsum (a form of calcium)
to plants counteracts the sodium
in the water,” McWilliams said.
Gypsum can be bought at local
nursery centers.
McWilliams stressed that the
salt problem isn’t so severe that if a
plant is watered from the tap it will
suffer immediate damage. The
problem is a gradual one, the salt
builds up in the soil each time the
plant is watered, he said. A way to
avoid salt build-up is to leach
plants every month or so, McWil
liams said. Leaching means run
ning water, preferably distilled or
rainwater, through the plant,
which washes away salt in the soil.
“A lot of plants aren’t bothered
by the chemical imbalance,”
McWilliams said. Plants such as
cactus, rubber plants, jade plants,
and most succulent plants are in-
“The closet plant is about the
only blooming plant that is hardy
enough to stand up to tap water,”
he said. Roy added that these
plants were good in dorms and
other areas where there is less
light.
Some common symptoms of salt
excess include leaf burn — brown
coloring on the tips of leaves —
and reduced root growth. “Gener
ally just try to go with tolerant
plants,” McWilliams said. “You
Funeral for distinguished
A,&M prof Langford held
By CATHY CAPPS
Battalion Reporter
Funeral services for Ernest
.angford, an architect and former
ducator at Texas A&M Universi-
y, were held Tuesday. Langford,
K), died Monday morning in a
8ryan hospital.
Langford, Class of 13, came to
exas A&M in 1909. He was head
if the architecture department for
years before serving as an
rchivist for 14 years. He retired
t age 84.
Texas A&M’s College of
rchitecture and Environmental
esign complex was named for
angford in 1976 in recognition of
is many accomplishments at the
Jniversity. As head of the
irchitecture department, Lang-
)rd instituted the first five-year
curriculum in 1931, and gained
accreditation for the school in
1948. He was a member of the
American Institute of Architects
since 1926, and in 1955 was made
a fellow, the highest honor attain
able in that institute.
“He took a fledgling school of
architecture and pushed it toward
respectibility,” said Charles
Estes, head of the architecture de
partment at Texas A&M.
As an archivist, Langford was
responsible for collecting mate
rials from the early days of the
University, concentrating mainly
on building and physical mate
rials, Estes said. He also wrote a
monograph entitled “50 Years of
Architectural Education at Texas
A&M.” Langford is remembered
by his colleagues for his fantastic
memory and exceptional stu
dents, as well as his accomplish
ments, Estes said.
Langford was instrumental in
the development of College Sta
tion as well as the University,
serving on the first city council in
1938 and later as mayor of the city
from 1942 to 1965.
Langford is survived by his
wife, Lela Davidson Langford of
College Station; a son and daugh
ter-in-law, Keith and JoAnn Lang
ford of Houston; two grandchil
dren, David K. Langford and
Suzanne Langford Letch, both of
San Antonio; four great grandchil
dren; and three brothers, Elton
(Sam) Langford of Plainview, Wil
liam H. Langford of Bakersfield,
Calif., and Mark L. Langford of
Corpus Christi.
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Faculty and students evacuated
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minor inconvenience.
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