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MRS. CARRIE BELLE GABLE.
SEEKING THE LIGHT.
A rose-tree climbed by the window side,
Coronaled over with green:
And ambient kisses of sunlit May,
And crystal dews at the close of day,
Wooed the pearly buds that, folded, hide
The crown of the summer’s queen.
. Under the floor so damp and cold,
Under the floor in the dearth and mould,
A strong root ran that felt the life
Os the out-side world with beauty rife;
And it pushed a tendril up to see
If any chance of growth could be.
Not a glint was there of sun or dew,
Not a gleam of light the darkness through;
But cobwebs and clay, and pebbles and dust;
It must grow through these, if grow it must.
The roses bloom by the window side,
Creamy and sweet and fair—
The royal crowns of a royal June—:
The gold of summer’s golden noon;
Cups of the Gods, distilling wide,
Ambrosia on the air.
Up through the steps of stone so cold—
Up through the steps a tale was told
Os life that would live because it must,
Os life and growth in darkness and dust;
For a green leaf smiled at the blossoms rare
Showering their glory everywhere;
And more to me than the roses’ gold
Was the wealth of praise one leaf could hold.
Ah, leaf so brave, how many there be,
In human life, seeking life like thee!
CURIOUS FACTS ABOUT
FLOWERS.
Within the Antarctic circle, it is said,
there has never been a flowering plant
found.
In the Artic region there are seven hun
dred and sixty-two kinds of flowers; fifty
of those are confined exc'usively to the
Arctic region. They are really polar flow
ers. The colors of these flowers are not as
bright or varied as our own as/*, most of
them being white or yellow, as if borrow
ing these hardy hues from their snowy
bergs and golden stars.
Perhaps the most beautiful of all our
everlasting-, that longest defy the autumn
frosts and most brighten our winter bou
quets, are the white and yellow varieties.
The rose of Florida, the most beautiful of
flowers, have no perfume. The cypress of
Greece, the finest of trees —bears no fruit.
The bi >d of paradise- the most beautiful
of birds, gives no song; and some of the
loveliest of human forms have the least soul.
Nature seems to have made flowers as
types of character and emblems of women.
So we name our children after them, and
alwaysinstinctively comparea lovely, beau
tiful child to a flower; we say the timid
Snowdrop, the modest Violet, the languid
Primrose, the pale, fair Lily, the flaunting
Marigold, the lowly Daisy, the deadly
Nightshade, and the sweet, solitary Eglan
tine—these are all types Flowers have
their historical associations and individ
uality. The Verbena, our great favorite
twenty-three centuries ago covered the
altars of the gods. Virgil says, -‘The
shepherds used it with frankincense in a
spell designed to win the love ot Daphne.”
The Turks cultivate whole fields of roses,
from which they make the famous “attar
of roses,” so fragrant that anything touched
with a drop of it seems never to lose its
fragrance.
In some plants the flowers sleep during
the night and the leaves during the day
Leaves will always face the sky and the
earth; flowers will affect all kinds of posi
tions.
Plants like the Calla, natives of warm
climates, should it is said, be watered with
warm water. For several years it has been
a favorite of mine, and 1 have grown it to
perfection, and have rever once used a
drop of hot water on them. Some of the
leavi s, measure one and one-half feet in
length, and the flowers are exceedingly
large and white. I let them grow in large
tubs and boxes, as the more room the root*
have, the finer and larger the blooms.
HYACINTHS.
Os our cultivated bulbous flowering
plants, I would place the hyacinth first.
Its large variety of single and double blos
soms. embraces nearly every shade of color;
and its delicious fragrance gives to it an
additional charm that ftw other blossoms
can equal. It was first grown in England
in the latter part of the sixteenth century,
and ever since it has been a favorite among
English speaking people.
For outdoor growing, the proper time
for the planting of the bulbs is October or
the first half of November. The bulbs are
placed in light, rich soil, seven or eight
inches apart each way, and to a depth that
will bring four inches of earth above the
crown of the bulb when the ground over
them is made level with the surrounding
surface. As soon as the ground freezes
they are covered with coarse manure or
with leaves to the depth of four or five
inches. They require no cultivation, and
after this the only care required is to place
sticks to them when in bloom, to prevent
their being blown down by the wind.
When the foliage has withered, the season
has arrived for taking them up. The bulbs
may be dried at. once in the sun, but the
Dutch method of curing them is better.
This is to place them as they are dug, side
by side on a sunny spot of ground, and
cover to the depth of an inch with loose
dirt. The subdued heat of the earth will
ripen them in the course ot a fortnight,
when the curing is finished by placing
them in the sun for an hour. Thus cured,
the home grown bulbs are scarcely inferior
to the imported ones.
Hyacinths may be grown easily in glass
es, and are then elegant and appropriate
ornaments for the parlor. Get the bulbs
as early in the season as possible and put
them in the glasses at once. Keep them
in the dark until the roots are well started,
after which the more light they have the
better for them. Change the water in the
glasses every other day, or every third day
at the most. When the weather is very
severe, remove the plants from the win
dows. else they may be injured by the frost.
They will occasion very little trouble, how
ever, and are most beautiful and lovable
parlor furniture.
Forcing for winter blooming is accom
plished by potting the bulbs about the mid
dle of September, or till the middle of Oc
tober at the latest, using five or six-inch
pots and light rich soil. They are then
placed in a cold frame, or some similar con
trivance (or under a wall will answer)
where they may be covered to keep off
heavy rains. But rain or no rain, they
are covered with hay or leaves to the
depth of twelve or fifteen inches. They
are given one thorough watering when pot
ted, and after being covered they are not
disturbed for a month, during which time
they form their roots. Then the most for
ward are br< ught out and re-potted into
larger pots, the pots being proportioned to
the apparent strength of the bulbs, and
placed in a temperature of about fifty de
grees. If the temperature is too high the
flowers will be abortive. At the end of
three weeks the tenqierature is increased
gradually and carefully to sixty-five de
grees. The temperature is again changed;
this time reduced, when the fl >wer stems
have risen to nearly their full height, and
the lower flowers of the spike have begun
to expand. When the flowers are fully
expanded, the p’ants may be taken to the
sitting room, or wherever the grower
wishes to have them, but they must be pro
tected from sudden changes in the temper
ature of the air and from draughts of cold
air. If the water given them is moderately
warm, say of a temperature of from eighty
to ninety degrees, they will do better.
For forcing for winter blooming the
White Roman Hyacinth is a great favor
ite, and justly deserves to be. By plant
ing every week or so in shallow boxes (six
inches deep) beginning in September,
a succession ot bloß e oms from November
till May is secured. They are treated as
regards temperature, etc., as described
above, the roots being brought to a higher
temperature to be forced about four weeks
after the bulbs are planted. Hence a suc
cession of plantings secures a succession of
blossoms.
THE CHEERFUL HOME WINDOW.
The days have come when a bit of green
ness in the window shines out with mag
nified worth; and if here and there is a lit
tle color—a bright geranium, a golden col
eus, the graceful fushcia, swinging its lovely
censers, and the fragrant while or blue
violets—all these create new und lasting
delight. A pot of farflgium, whose great
mottled leaves of green and gold—turns
its face to the light, this, with a few orna
mental leaved begonias will rest the eyes,
and charm many a passer-by with its beau
ty and freshness. A window full <>f flowers
seems a guarantee of a cheerful home—of
warmth and light and cheer on the inside.
Keep a few flowers i i your room, chang
ing them often.
The cyclamen is an admirable window
plant, giving a profusion of brilliantly col
ored flowers and attractive foliage, and
there is little trouble in caring for it.
Plant during October in a soil of loam, leaf
mold, and sand, equal parts. Do not cover
the plant, but press it into the earth; give
a little water and keep in the shade till
well grown; then place in window and
treat as other plants.
For a dinner party, roses usually usurp
the first place, for no flower is so generally
admired and used. It has been cultivated
longer than any other flower, and better
results have been obtained from experi
menting with it. The most delicate shades
of color maybe found in a bunch of roses,
and the shape of the flower itself is almost
perfect for displaying to the best advantage
the delicate hues. No prettier centre piece
for the table can be conceived than that
made of Baroness de Rothschild roses, set
in a thicket of maiden-hair fern. Around
this centre piece, twine a great rope of moss
rose buds, with their beautiful leaves and
stems. Around the stand of confectionery
twine the flowering almond, and the ends
of the table may be filled in with the flow
ers of the blooming peach, and traceries of
pink lygodium.
Begonias do well for me, and with their
pretty flowers and handsome foliage com
bined, make one of the most beautiful of win
ter bloomingplants Carnationsare fine win
ter bloomers. Geraniums will grow and
bloom all winter. The same plants that
bloom so abundantly through summer, will,
if enriched, continue to put forth their ten
der buds and bloom all through the winter,
I am speaking from my own experience
Some writers say that young plants bloom
better for them than the old ones. Not so
for me. I prefer the plants that have been
well cut back, enriched and that have been
blooming through the summer. Before
bringing them in. take off about an inch of
the old soil and fill up with barn-yard soil,
or from the hen-house, with a little sand
added, and water only when the earth
looks dry on the top. I have a great many
varieties, and like Oliver Twist, want more.
The above are only a few of the plants
suitable for a window-garden. For a win
dow, a hanging basket is a lovely and at
tractive adornment. They need more fre
quent showers and will often require water
ing twice a day.
I consider there is no more respectable
character on earth than an unmarried wo
man who makes her own way through life,
quietly, without support of husband or
brother, and who retains in her possession
a well-regulated mind, a disposition to en
joy simple pleasures, and fortitude to sup
port inevitable pains, and sympathize with
the sufferings ot others.— Charlotte Bronte.
The gentleman who finds great r un du
ring a summer at a watering-place in talk
ing to Miss Prononce', the young lady so
familiar with slang, loud in costume and
flirtatous in manner, will greet her coldly
on the street the next season, and if she
should beat a dance, will absolutely not see
her. She entertained him then because it
was too warm for him to exert himseli; but
when be wants a friend, a sweetheart or a
wife, be sure he will select her exact oppo
site. Avoid flirting as you w r ould the
plague; a little coquetry may be yours by
nature, but you must not cultivate ii.
Slang is as reprehensible in you as stealing
is in a beggar, and less to be commended ii
the beggar is hungry. Familiarity and
satiety are synonymous, and if you want to
be a well-bred woman, as I doubt not you
do, you will freeze any symptom of it on
the part, not only of men, but of women
iriends. And then iou have something
to look forward to besides this lazy life;
you are going to be some good man’s wife,
and do you think he wants his wife to be
the toast of a yatching club, ’a jolly girl’or
the retailer of silly stories to the fellows?
This is what the flirt grows to be; and so,
no matter how joyful her life may S' em,
remember it is not all of to-day.—Delinea
tor.
Truth crushed to earth will rise again.
Do not interrupt another when speaking.
Better strong within than strong without.
Most pleasure embraces us but to strangle.
It is no honor for an eagle to vanquish a
dove.
It is foolish to borrow trouble from to
morrow.
Nothing overcomes paisicn more than
silence.
Deliberation on useful things is prudent
delay.
He ia nearest to Gud who has the fewest
wants.
jgrl.
INTRODUCTORY.
Dear Beadertt of Woman's Work:
I have been asked by Mr. Mitchell to
take charge of the “Art Department” of
our paper. I say our because “ Woman’s
Work ” belongs to us, and we belong to it,
in a mutual interest which will widen and
deepen as long as the Magazine exists.
I love the South, and I know that Art
has a foot-hold there among her spreading
trees, fragrant flowers and vines. My pur
pose, as Editor of this department, is to
give practical instructions that may be
adapted to the beautifying ot homes or the
making of fancy articles for sale.
I am willing to answer questions from all
who accompany their requests with a
stamped envelope for reply, and one extra
two cent stamp to cover cost of paper and
mailing. Two mailing clerks are necessary
to facilitate my work as art Editress ot
eight journals. I chartre the readers of
these papers nothing for time employed in
answering their ’questions, the only stipu
lation being postage to cover actual cost of
material. I merely give this as explana
tory, so all will fully understand. I keep
stamping patterns adapted to either paint
ing or embroidery, and will mail any read
er of “ Woman’s Work ” a catalogue price
list on receipt of six cents postage. Let us
now proceed to our first lesion which
will be
DESIGN FOR BRASS PLAQUR.
Perforated pattern No 1031— price lifts.
This is a wreath of pansies, open at top and
would be a handsome decoration for a ten
inch plaque. Red sable brushes Nos. 1, 8
and 5 will be needed for this design. One
bottle pale drying oil and the following
lube oil colors: One tube Kremmitz
white; one tube Cobalt blue; one tube
Lemon yellew; one tube Light Zinnaber
green; one tube rose madder; one tube
i’ene verte —which is a dark green; one
tube brown madder.
Stamp your design with white powder,
then to set it hold for one moment in front
of an open fire. In stamping, have some
one hold the pattern in place for you while
you rub on the powder. Arrange the pat
tern with the rough side of the perforations
up. A stamping pad may be made by
sewing a ; eice of old kid glove over the lid
of a small wooden box. In stamping, take
up your powder on this pad and rub over
the lines of the pattern, taking up more
powder as occasion requires, being carefi’l
to go over every line of the pattern before
m< ving it.
Your design must first have a coat of
white paint. Mix ju»t enough oil with the
paint to put it on smoothly. Let this dry
and then apply the natural colors or shades
of the pansies. If possible, get natural
flowers as models. H you cannot do this,
observe the following scheme of color:
Paint the leaves and stems in zinnaber
green, shading in a very little tene verte,
and also an occasional light touch of lemon
yellow. Your strokes should be made in
the direction of the grain of a pansy leaf.
By looking at a natural leaf this will be
easy to determine. Paint the calices of the
bud and blossoms, also in shades of green.
Paint part of your pansies a pure light
golden ye low. When this yellow is dry
make the markings or spots near the centre
with rose madder, to which a little brown
madder has been added. Place a very
small dab of zinnaber green right in the
centre. Let this dry, and then on each
side of this, work in a little chrome yellow,
if you have it in your list ot paints. This
chrome yellow is a useful color to have.
Also vandyke brown, scarlet lake, burnt
sienna, carmine, antwerp blue, ivory black
and emerald green in addition to colors
already mentioned. Almost any palette of
color can be made up from these. Cadmi
um and orange yellow are good colors to
have on hand, but are not obsolutely nec
essary at first. To proceed with our pan
sies, make up a shade ot rose madder to
which a little cobait blue is added, for the
rest of pansies and buds. Also make up as
a shading for these a color or lint of whit*,
rose madder and a very 1 ittle blue. With
this shade, spot the pansies alter your dark
er coat is nearly or quite dry. Make the
centres as before described. Smooth, even
strokes, with paint not too heavily applied
is wbat you want. A good practice is to
try painting a single flower, leaf or stem on
scraps of felt or satin.
The pattern I have given, is pretty for
a cushion top of red or brown satin.
Mrs. E S. L. Thompson.
Winchester, Indiana.
Photo frames are increasing in beauty
and they are capable of still further de
velopment in that direction. They are
made in the fi rm of miniature screens and
covered with antique figured tapestries,
and cretonnes and are lined with old yel-
I low Japanese and Indian silk.