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. WSaaiE .:■ J >Je \/ _ V »,. ' V'.iMMKg i ilkhMF J JU 1 ■ . . r ■' /k < .•.., \ V'! . ', ■.•AL'wp»y ■'.■> r For Woman’s Work. /jOnML. < kffl the little flower. Wr <V W — ,' $ A little flower raised its head, *|tU : ... <\a<X ’ s Wg Jy'MßP’ . “Oh, very fair and sweet am I, HM The world was made for me,” it said, z ? '’■’ST & “The earth, the air, the sea and sky. “The sun shines down to give me light, ■' 'T > ' The stars watch o’er me while I sleep— . JB All through the long and lonely night, ; 4ssß[ * A faithful guard o’er me they keep. “And when the gentle breezes blow, MMb •'/ Whene’er the breezes blow this way, HHV.’ '<&>%-■' J-l They rock me gently to and fro, Throughout the night, and through jBBBKBf' 4J the day- EwHiUHFL ' “A grateful little flower am I, (• B An< l h a PPy as a dower can be; Jr For see, the earth, the air, the sky, KwJBWK&M - Wl.k« gs The whole wide world was made for K me!” *y.' lb “ M - M « E - M - ...- Flower Talks. [Note.]—Letters or MSS. for this Department (but for no other) should be addressed to Mrs. Imogene E. Johnson, Box 168, Los Gatos, Cal. OR those who keep plants in the house during winter, now is a good time to he rooting cuttings. For the root ing of cuttings, a box of sand is desira ble. Sand that has a small amount of earth intermingled is the best. The sand must be always moist, and in a half shady place, as too great heat is not well. For Geraniums, the cutting should be selected of strong, vigorous wood, and af ter having been taken off, left to dry over on the peel before putting into the sand; this will keep them from damping off. I had rather have a cutting four or five inch es in length than a larger one, as a rule. Heliotrope and Fuchsia are easily rooted, if small pieces of soft wood are taken, and placed in the sand with a glass turned over them until growth begins. Begonias should be treated in the same way. For a handsome lot of plants for the house in winter, an assortment of Geraniums, both double and single, a skeleton leaf, and a rose-scented; a Fuchsia or two, several Be gonias, and a few foliage plants, will fur nish a variety, and make an attractive bit of greenery for the sitting-room. A very handsome plant, for outdoors or in, is the dwarf Ageratum; it grows read ily from slips, and in a very short time be comes a thing of beauty, with its attrac tive green foliage and clusters of fluffy blue flowers. A convenient article for the veranda, and one that is very ornamental, is a plant screen. Have made a box of four, five, or even six feet in length, according to the space for which you require it; perhaps four feet is as long as is really convenient. Let it be a foot in width, and the same in depth. Have it well secured at the cor ners, to prevent warping, and place under it a stout and large set of casters; from the centre of each end let an upright stick rise four feet, and build a rack for vines on these; or, better still, stretch a piece of coarse wire netting across. The box finished, fill it with rich earth, and then plant vines in it. When these are grown you will have a handsome screen that may be used upon the veranda to shut off either a view of the occupants, or a breeze that is too brisk. Perhaps Ivy is as good as anything that can be found for a box of this sort, as its strong growth, and thick, leathery foliage render it less susceptible to winds and disturbances than almost any other plant. • «*•**• There is one of the old time favorites among the annuals that is deserving of a place in every garden, particularly in the North, where the short seasons make an nuals desirable, and that is the Mirabilis, or Four O’clock. They are easily grown, grow into a bushy' plant of considerable size in a short time, and are covered with bloom from the time they are ten inches high until frost comes. Nothing can be sweeter than they, when the dew of a sum mer’s night kisses the perfume from their dainty trumpets. Our mother and our grandmothers, too, grew them; and what one of us cannot see again, as we inhale the fragrance of the Four O’clock, the dear old homestead with the vine-covered porch, where the loved ones sat and looked out into the moonlit garden? And then see a white-robed figure flit down the walk, between the rows of blossoming flowers, to the gate where, under the shade of the trees, we could still see the gleam of the white drees, as the sound of her voice came to us intermingling with the deeper tones of a manly one. Ah! yes, the days are faraway, and the dear daughter of the house went out to the gate in another white robe, with the owner of the manly voice beside her. Later, she was borne along the flower-bordered path, for the last time; her robe was white, but not whiter now than her face, or the pearly hands that were filled with white roses ; the manly voice was silent, except for sob bing,as he bent over the white brow of his dear one. Many of these old-fashioned flowers are dear to us from association, and for that reason we ought to be thankful that a great many of them are well worthy a place among more fashionable ones. The Campanula, or Canterbury Bell, is another old favorite, and its beautiful bells add a touch of blue that is desirable in a garden. A row of Hollyhocks of the deli cate shades of pink cream, and salmon, mingled with the crimsons and maroons along a garden fence make a stately ap pearance. Poppies are grown of such beautiful colors, and such superb size, that they are well deserving ot a place. The single ones, of large size, are lovely; there are white centres, with scarlet-fringed edges ; and those with the fringed edges glowing like coals of fire, with the centres, black as night, looking like gypsies of the garden ; then the giant double ones, six or seven inches in diameter—great fluffy balls of pink, white, red, or amaranth, are most gorgeous affairs. And, for late blooming, the Asters, of different shapes and many shades of color, are another legacy from our grandmothers’ gardens, and a most appropriate close to the season’s wealth of bloom. ******* Mrs. S. A. wants to know how to graft Cacti. Will some one who has had expe rience, kindly give us directions? Miss T. M. G. writes: “ I want to tell you what a cheerful flower garden I have this summer. I live in a little hall bed room, on the fourth floor, in a big city boarding house. I love flowers, and sadly miss the gar den of my country home. I got a box that would just fit my window sill, which is a WOMAN’S WORK. p led up in some out of the way corner, where one may go and dip the pot without more trouble. Good, rich loam, with a fair supply of hen ma nure, is good ground for nearly every sort of plant. Where loam is not to be had, well-rooted sods, sand, and your ordinary garden soil will answer well. Ot course if your garden is sandy, the further use ot sand is to he omitted, and some stiffer soil used in its place. Hen manure is an excel lent fertilizer, but as it is strong, a small amount goes a good ways. It does not send up such a crop of weeds as barn-yard manure. Roses, especially, grow luxuri antly if fed with it. ******* Dear Editbkbs : I want to toll you what a pretty bit of garden I have under a north window, and one that planted itself, too. The plants came up there, and after I noticed them, I worked the ground around them, and let them grow. There are three sunflowers, not of the giant sort, though they are seven or eight feet tall, rather slender, with me dium sized flowers; these stand some little distance apart, and a number of the old fashioned Love-Lies-Bleeding have grown up to heights of from three to six feet. Blue Morning Glories have climbed all over and around the upright stalks of the Sunflowers, while the Love-Lies-Bleeding is twining and festooning back and forth among the taller plants until it is all a graceful tangle. The yellow discs of the Sunflowers, the long, drooping, blood-red plumes of the Love-Lies-Bleeding, and the purple trumpets of the Morning Glories, make a most enchanting bower of loveli ness. Looked at from the window, it is the prettiest sight I ever saw. I show it to everybody. I never should have thought of planting those things together, and yet what a beautiful combination na ture made! The Euphorbia, or Snow-on The-Mountain grows wild here, and what is cherished as a choice foliage plant in some places, is a common weed here, called “milk-weed.” But then, all plants grow wild somewhere, I suppose. lam glad that we have a floral department to our Especially Invited by the Management of the World’s Fair to Occupy Most Prominent Position. THIS IS THE GREATEST HONOR EVER AWARDED IN THIS COUNTRY TO A PIANO MAN UFACTURER. EXAMINE THESE OUR LA TEST PRODUCTIONS BEFORE PURCHASING. F iß23! d } MUCKERING & SONS, 791 Tremont Street, Boston, Mass. good broad one, and little by little I filled it with earth. When I had it full I plant ed double Portulacca in it; it grew well and has been covered with blossoms every day for a month. “On a stand by the window I have a Fern and a Lycopo dium, that show a green bit of coolness that is quite refresh ing on a hot day. “I will never go without a window box again while I have to live cooped up in a small, city room.” Miss T. H. writes that she always bakes the soil before using to fill pots for flowers. It is a very good plan, as it effectually kills all worms, eggs, etc. Like a great many other things, it is the “ounce of prevention” and, though a tire some process, yields great results. Always take pains, in filling pots for plants, to get good, sweet earth; nothing from a sour, musty place, as plants will > not thrive in such soil. It is a good plan to have a large quanti ty of soil that is suit able for potting, well mixed, and then paper again, as I am sure all flower lovers must be. Mrs. A. Brown. *#•**•* Mrs. C. D. H. asks what will grow well as a basket plant in a north window. Tradescantia, or Wandering Jew, will thrive in almost any place. The finest plant I ever saw grew in an old tin pail, hung near the ceiling, before a north win dow. Loam enriched with half a pint of hen manure filled the pail, and the Trades cantia, the green variety, (which, by the way, is the strongest grower of the family) grew and grew, like Jack’s bean stalk. It grew until it reached the floor, and was a dense green mass, two and a half feet through. Plenty of water given about twice a week in dry weather, and once a week in cool or damp weather, with no drainage, suits the Tradescantia. It will never grow yellow at the top of the stems if always kept wet, but if allowed to dry up and lose the leaves, it is no longer beau tiful. When a plant of it gets scraggy and poor,throw it away,and re-set afew thrifty ends, which will soon make fine plants. Placed in a vase of water, pieces of this accommodating plant will grow for a long time, forming pleasing bits of greenery for shelf or bracket. Os course, in this way it does not make much of a growth, but keeps fresh and green, and for winter is a pretty ornament. English Ivy is an other vine that may be kept in water for decoration. For Woman’s Work. STERN TESTIMONY. A physician was quoted the other day as saying:—“Every woman who has grown up in a corset, no matter how loosely worn, is deformed.” A writer adds: “Thus motherhood is robbed of its divinity ; for all children should certainly have the right to be born healthy and whole, and not come into the world victims of de formed mothers.” Did you ever know a physician of stand ing and integrity who did not denounce more or less vehemently the wearing of corsets ? I once heard one say, with flash ing eyes:—“They are an invention of the devil 1” A friend who has been under the treat ment of an eminent specialist, reports him as saying: “I wish I had them all in a pile and could set fire to them I” The testimony of such men of science and broad experience is valuable; but it seems to me unnecessary proof to any wo men who has a mind of her own. From her experience and reasoning she should draw the same conclusion—that corsets are detrimental to perfect womanhood and motherhood. Whatever mars maternity is an enemy to civilization and Christianity. Is not this one consideration enough to make us heed the counsel of the wise? Should the added argument in favor of art and grace and beauty, be necessary ? Not long ago, a lady was conversing with the wife of a prominent missionary, who for years had resided in China. As is usual, the lady expressed horror at the barbarous custom of foot-binding. The missionary’s wife smiled and said that Chinese women do not think foot-binding half so barbarous as the waist-binding prac ticed by the following of European fash ions ; that they consider tight-dressing not only ugly, but such a display of the form indecent. A stern rebuke surely! It seems indeed a presumption for us to preach to Chinese a religion to abolish cruelty of foot-bind ing, when by a “whale-bone” prison we deform and weaken our bodies m a more serious way. The Christianity that would give freedom to the feet, should certainly call for emancipation from the misery of corsets and tight dressing. We are prone to think the Chinese heathen; are we civ ilized ? Margaret Mkll. Os all the joys that bless mankind, the sweetest is the joy of a new found love. 7