Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

k /V'i SA *^/* , W r .yF HlatjaL MRS. CARRIE BELLE GABLE. GHOSTS. Adown the sad. forsaken garden walks I roam in musing mood. Where are the flowers that burdened these bare stalks. That late the south wind moved— The Hollyhock, so gay in bright array; The Dahlia’s regal grace; The Morning-glory flower, of but a day— The Daisy’s star lit face? Among the leaves shall I not seek and find Some dainty Mignonette— A Pansy bloom, purple and gold combined, Or, charming Violet? Why do I ask? O'er head’s a winter sky. lii yon tree snowbirds twit. And down the walk, by chilly winds swept by, The ghosts of flowers flit. GOV. STANFORD’S ARBORETUM. Gov. Leland Stanford is one of the money kings ot California, the President of the Central Pacific Railroad and one of its largest stockholders. He has a magnifi cent villa at Menlo Park, near San Fran cisco, and the estate is laid out in the finest style oi landscape gardening. Some time ago he decided to add to the interesting features of the place an extensive arb re turn, setting apart a space of something near 300 acres for that purpose. The gov ernor believes the soil and climate of Cal ifornia will grow a larger variety of plants than any other in ti e world, and his new arob >retum is intended to put this idea of its owner to the test of experiment. A short time aso Gov. Stanford visited Flush ing, Long Island, to make purchases of plants. At one of the great nurseries there he made his first purchase of plants, some 5,000 in number, including 1.231 distinct species and vanities. He told the pro prietor that he intends to go on purchasing until he obtains every tree, shrub, and vine, fruit and ornamental, that can possibly be made to grow on the soil of’ California, and he believes that many varieties which have already been tried there and failed may be grown successfuly by a little exercise of care and skill on the part of the growers. At any rate he intends to experiment with the widest possible range of varieties, and try what will and what will not grow. His first purchase was a collection of trees, shrubs, and vines, Rhododendrons. Azaleas. Camellias, rare Japanese plants, and fruits of all kinds. This collection embraces 476 varieties of deciduous trees, 229 varieties of evergreen trees, 40 varieties of hardy Azaleas. 40 varieties of Rhododendrons, 40 varieties of Camellias. 136 varieties of ornamental vines, and 272 varieties of fruits. This is probably the largest number of choice trees, etc., that ever were brought together in a single purchase. Everything of value that could be had at the time was included in it. The plants generally were small or medium sized, so as to be easier for transportation and transplanting. Several cars were required to transport the mass to California. The first year the plants will be set out in nursery rows, and when the plants of the arboretum are fully completed and the spots selected likely to be best for each variety of plant, they will be planted out. Gov. Stanford is really the pioneer in the movement for bringing together the largest collection of plants which will grow at any one spot in this country. Hisarboretum will be a beautiiul park as well as a museum of botanical science. Every plant set will have its label, giving all necessary information about it. With the exception of the Arnold arboretum, near Boston, under the care of Prof. C. S. Sargent, this undertak ing of Gov. Stanford’s is the first of the kind which promises to assume propor tions worthy of the name of a scientific arboretum. An attempt was once made to make an arboretum at Mount St Vin cent, Central Park, and for some years, while the park was under good manage ment, tne effort was attended with gratify ing success, but of late the place has fallen to decay.— Exchange. Any one can succeed with Abutilons. These*flowers are large and bell-shaped, a good winter bloomer being Boule-de- Neige, while of dwarf habit and quite pro lific. A WINDOW GARDEN. Select the best window you have suitable for plant culture. One having a southern j exposure is to be preferred* next to that, one looking east or west; but it is useless to I attempt growing anything in a north win dow. Go over every inch of window-sash, and with strips of paper or putty, stop every crack and crevice where Jack Frost is liable to make an entrance. While it is of the utmost importance to keep out frost, we must be equally careful to keep our plants in a moist atmosphere. Remember that the dry air of a sitting-room is unfavorable to growing plants. To counteract this, moisture should be frequently applied by means of a fine sprinkler. When a sprit.kier cannot be had, a good substitute is a bucket of water and a whisk brush or broom; tepid water being preferable. Look over ydur plants every day, watering thoroughly such as need it, leaving the others till the next day. Some are troubled with aphis and red spider; fumigation and washing are a sure cure and prevention. lam not troubled by these pests, but have read that if you keep the temperature about sixty-five de grees by day and fifty-five by night, you will have little trouble with them. A HANGING BASKET. To make a pretty basket, get a large wooden bowl and glue over the outside quite thickly, and peach kernels split in half all over it. After dry ing, varnish and let get quite dry, then give another coating, or you can paint any desired color, but it is prettier in its natural state if the kernels are clean before put ting on. Suspend the basket by three small chains. Bore three holes equal dis tances, and run the chains through. Plant in the centre a winter blooming geranium, and around the edge Kennilworth ivy. for the climbers—use German ivy, and a few Nasturtiums. This is quite handsome, looks like carved, work and is an ornament to any window. Be sure to let the sun light fall upon it, and keep the earth moist. DOUBLE-FLOWERED PETUNIAS. For a great many purposes the double flowering Petunias are remarkably adapted. Good bushy plants are suitable for window plants. A bed ot them in the flower gar den will b oom abundantly during the su nmer. and for growing in vases are good, as they grow and flower well even if they should get dry at the roots occasionally and the soil exhausted. The propagation I of this class of plants is very simple; cut tings are easily rooted, but the best means is from seed. The plants are stouter, and of a stronger constitution. The double white is lovely and a very profuse bloomer, | so also is the purple, but of a coarser nature. If taken up before freezing weather, and : planted in a hanging basket, they will i gladden you through many weeks of cold and gloom. WINTER PROTECTION. It is better to wait until the ground is frozen at least two or three inches in depth ; befoie we place litter or protecting materi i al of any kind, over the roots of herbaceous plants, shrubs or trees. Frozen earth will j form a better non-conductor than unfrozen I earth. The protecting material will tend I to keep it thus frozen, and prevent its freez : ing deeper. The litter, if unrotted, will protect far better than if decomposed Well roted manure, though it enriches the soil, and nourishes the plant in the spring, must feebly conduce to protection against cold. Additional litter placed over the earth when it is deepest frozen, is ad vantageous, protecting the ice—so to speak—and preventing exposure to the intense cold that may follow. Plants in relatively high latitudes have more aromatic Iruits, foliage of a deeper, green and richer essential oils than similar plantsgrowingin more southerly regions. It is thought that these and other differences are due to the action of the prolonged day light of the summer months in the north. THE WINTER-GARDEN. The heart is a winter-garden In a dreary waste of snow; The soil must be warm, and rich, and deep, Ere a single flower may blow. Oh! what watchful care is needed To keep the fires alight; For the plants are all exotic And the lilies the first to blight. The light of that winter garden Is the light that falls irom above; And the frail sweet flowers that open there Are the flowers of faith aud love. For Woman's Work. SPECIFIC EDUCATION FOR GIRLS. Much has been said of the advisability of a girl learning a trade or receiving training in one particular branch of s'udy. and the experience of many proves the advice sound. One incident may be given, and there are many similar. Though perhaps it may be considered extreme in some in stances. the main points are true. A young girl determined after her grad uation t<> be independent. Her father was of moderate means, and there were younger brothers and sisters at home to be educated. A girl of true spirit will hardly be content to sit at home and play young lady, under these circumstances, for to do so after the conventional manne-, she must needs have a well furnished wardrobe and an abundance of leisure at her disposal. But if she is given the proper intellectual and home training she can have little de sire for a life with no particular object, an aimless, superficial existence, which society life is, in its most harmless form. This girl had higher aims and aspirations, and thoughts of independence grew into a de termination to do something besides wait ing for an eligible offer of marriage. In deed we believe such offers come all the sooner when there is no idle waiting. Over-expectancy is neither wise nor be coming. for love usually steals on us un awares and the sweet awakening comes so<'n enough. Our girl gave her thoughts to other things, and wished to learn what she could do and be. alone. To be sure she had been through college and had what the old folks called a "first class education” and “of course she can teach, or do any thing she pleases,” say they. What has she learned in her colle giate course that she can find of practical service when she assumes the character of "Bread-winner?” She has a smattering ol the languages, and, alas ! little more than a smattering of her own English, as she might find, if put to the test as critic or proof reader. She knows something of mathe matics, but not so accurate and thorough in her knowledge as to be a competent book keeper. She may know something of mus ic and art, but not so highly is she cultured in these departments as to allow her to be an instructor in them. We speak now ot the ordinary girl, who has no especial talent for the arts, but sufficient natural ability to receive an education intelligent ly. So when she considers seriously what she shall do, teaching school is the most practical thing that presents itself. But she has no experience, no reputation —two requisites for securing a desirable position. Unless a young Woman is accomplished in music or art, or has received a teacher’s diploma from a normal school, she will not be a succesful applicant for a position in the best schools and colleges, and without such a position, school-teaching is a most ungratifying task. The standard now in sisted upon for instructors is so much higher than formerly, that a special course of training is necessary in this as in other vocations. Having higher aspirations disap pointed, the problem finally resolves itself to this fact: the only available position for a girl whose only tangible recommendation as a teacher, is her diploma, is a school in the country. Country schools may differ, but to one known class and a large one in our section of the country, this particular school be longed. It was twenty miles in the country—a veritable back-woods school, attended by back-woods urchins. Those who have not tried it, can hardly realize how discouraging the experience of the mistress of such a school can be, when she starts out with the fond hopes of not only earning her own livelihood, but of doing something good and helpful for her fellow creatures. As a fihancial venture, nine cases out of ten it is a failure, and as to the philanthropical motives that once reigned in her artless breast, their decay is as cer tain as that of the flower that blooms but for a day. Rural simplicity is very well to read about when depicted by the pen of George Egbert Craddock; and the murdering of the Queen’s English until only a faint wraith of it is left, seems amusing and piquant when given in dialect portraiture bv Miss Rivesor Joel Chandler Harris; but when met with face to face and made un avoidable associates for months, this rural simplicity is likely to degenerate into heavy ignorance, and the dialect to show only unpleasant features. There is a glamour about fiction, however true to na ture it may be, and so it is more charming to meet with these crude, untamed speci mens of humanity in the well illustrated pages of our magazines, than to come into intimate contact with them in real life especially, if being the teachers, you con sider it your duty to civilize the savage and cause the primitive modes of expres sion to conform somewhat to the rules of grammar. of Virginia" is a character strikingly unique, strong and fascinating, when given t<» us fresh from the red bills and country fastnesses of the "Old Domini on.” but in our country school, though there may be a character of equal originali ty. peculiar to that section, we fear an ac quaintance would fail to cause a recogni tion of the heroine in Georgia of Georgia. At least this young school-teacher found it discouraging, not only to develop the heroine, but to instill something like cul ture and rudimentary knowledge into inanity and uncompromising dullness. As a means of earning a living, teach ing such a school to the exclusion of all society, is anything but elevating in its tendency. The failure to accomplish some thing. to awaken some return for all labor expended, brings a hopelessne-s from which there is no appeal. Such is the dishearten ing experience of many teachers of com mon countrv schools. Often while trying to impress indelibly upon some mind, infantile in wisdom, if not in years, the peculiar shape and struc ture of one of the twenty-six letters, or to untwist a brogue from the tongue that was made to enunciate only that way, when weary of toiling in vain, she deplores her knowledge of Rhetoric and Science and Logic that is rusting for want of use, and makes a fervent wish, that instead of it all, she knew how to do one thing well, from which she might gain some pleasure as well as compensation. A general education is not to be decried, for it widens the mental horizon and gives a breadth and range to thought and feeling that is inseparable from perfect culture, but this may be largely attained by un limited and comprehensive reading. The fact indisputably remains, that a general education cannot fit one to be independent. And what a satisfaction it must be to know yourself a perfect master of some oc cupation! Leta girl choose some vocation ; if teaching it preferred, she should receive the training to properly qualify her for it; if her talent is for music or art, let that be culiivat. d. Some few may be successful in literature. To the vast majority who are not especially gifted in any way, there now opens a wider field of useful and pleas ant occupations than ever before. Any bright, business-like girl can be a steno grapher.type-writer or telgrapher.and those who are thoroughly competent, are greatly in demand. No matter what her station in life may be, every girl should have given her the power to gain a competency. We trust the day is not far distant, when every woman, except those bound by the duties of home lite, will, from choice, and not only when forced by circumstances, do something for herself in the world of work and endeavor, and gain strength and in dividuality of their own. Many would show an energy and perseverance now not believed, and develop from the useless conventional society young lady, into a character offeree and admirable self-poise, if she had some pleasant and profitable oc cupation to add a zest and earnestness to her life, and many now dependent upon friends or relatives, and yearning for free dom and reliance, could well gain it, if they had received a specific education in stead of a general one. Helen C. Molloy. ANOTHER CRAZY LACE. Make a chain of 29 stitches. Ist Row.—l. de. in sth stitch of ch. ch. 2 Ide. in Blb stitch, ch 2. Ide. in 17th stitch, ch 2. 4dc. in 20th st. ch 2. Ide. in same st., 4dc. in 23rd st, ch 2. Ide. in same st, 4dc. in 26th st., ch 2. Ide. in same st., 4dc. in 29th st. ch 2 Ide. in same st., turn. 2nd Row.—4dc. in loop made by 2ch. ch 2. Ide. in same loop. 4dc. in next loop made by 2 eh 2. Ide. in same. 4dc. in the next loop, cb2. ldc. in same loop, 4dc. in next loop, cb2, ldc in same, * cb2. ldc. over de. of Ist row; repeat from * 4 times more. cb2., ldc. in ch. at end of row, turn. 3rd Row.—Ch 5., ldc. over de. of last row, *ch 2.. ldc. over next de.; repeat Irom * 3 times more, ch 2., 4dc. in loop made by 2eh., ch 2., ldc. in same, 4dc. in next loop, ch 2„ ldc. in same loop, 4dc. in next loop of 2ch ch 2„ ldc. in same. 4dc. in next loop, ch 2., ldc. in same loop, turn. 4th Row—4dc. in loop made by 2ch., ch 2., ldc. in same loop, 4dc. in next loop, ch 2., ldc. in same, 4de. in next loop, ch 2., ldc. in same, 4dc. in next loop, ch 2., ldc. in same, ch 2., ldc. in same, ch 2., ldc. over Ist de. of last row, * ch 2., Ide. over next de., repeat from * 4 times more, ch 2., ldc. at end of row; turn. Repeat from 3rd row. .Use No. 30 cotton and the above pattern will make a durable lace and also very pretty. The most inexperienced worker can soon learn to make this lace. Lena Thatcher. The power of human love is next to the power of God’s love.