410 TSE JJOVSSBOLD. 



Crystallizing Gras^jej — A lady aslis for directions for crj'stallizing 

 grasses. The following la a good recipe: Dissolve in a quart of hot water all 

 the alum you can by heating and stirring — it may be a pound, it may be 

 twenty ounces. Have the grasses divided into small bunches, tied. When 

 the solution begins to cool, dip in the grassed, holding them there five min- 

 utes, three minutes, two or one minute, according to the size of crystals you 

 wish. The cooler the solution the quicker the crystals form. A glass jar is 

 convenient for heating the alum, as one can see through the glass when the 

 crystals are forming, and know when to take them out. Do not let the grass 

 touch the side of the jar. Plao« an old plate under the bottom to prevent 

 the glass breaking. 



A Home-Made Flo^wer St^nd. — A very pretty flower stand can be 

 made out of a table, a bucket, and a half a dozen old tin cans. Place the 

 bucket in the center of the table. Punch several holes in the bottom of each 

 can, and screw them tirmly to the table by screws in the holes. 



Arches of stout wire may be made across the top of the cans. For ferns 

 planted in the cans, which require a great deal of water, cover the top of 

 the table with a shallow pan to catch the drip. Other plants should only 

 have the soil kept damp. Geraniums are fine for winter blooming, as are 

 also coleus, fuchsias, and petunias. Some l;ind of a vine should be planted 

 in each of the comer cans. Trailing plants produce a good effect. 



The Acorn— If an acom bo suspended by a piece of thread within half 

 an inch of the surface of some water contained in a hyacinth glass, and so 

 permitted to remain without being disturbed, it will, in a few months, burst, 

 and throw a root into the water, and shoot upward its straight and tapering 

 stem, with beautiful little green leaves. A young oak tree growing in tliis 

 way on the mantel-shelf of a room is a very elegant and interesting object. 

 I have seen several oak trees, and also a chestnut tree, thiis growing, but 

 all of them, however, have died after a few months, probably owing to the 

 water not being changed sufficiently often to afford them the necessary quan- 

 tity of nourishment from the matter contained in it. 



Moving Plants — In the fall those plants that are to be taken to the 

 house to serve as window plants for the winter, should bo looked after before 

 the season arrives for their removal. If, with a sharp spade, each plant is 

 cut around, so as to leave a ball of earth the right size for the pot, and then 

 allowed to remain two or three weeks, young fibrous roots will form; when 

 the plant, with the ball of earth attached ia lifted, it wiU scarcely experience 

 any check. 



To Keep a Bouquet Fresli— To keep a bouquet fresh for a number of 

 days, sprinkle lightly with fresh water, then put it into a vessel containing 

 soapsuds, which nutrify the roots and keep the flowers as bright as new. 

 Take the bouquet out of the suds every morning and lay it sideways, the 

 stalk entering first into the water. Keep it there a moment, then take it 

 out and sprinkle the flowers lightly by the hand with water. Beplaco it in 

 the soapsuds, and it will bloom as fresh as when first gathered. The soap- 

 Buds need changing every other day, 



IVatering Plants—The following directions for watering house plants 

 during the winter will assist those having care of them in keeping them 

 in a healthy condition: Take carbonate of ammonia four parta; nitrate of 



