January, 1914 
36 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
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WALL PAPERS AND THEIR SELECTION 
( Continued from page 11) 
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up, then with a wet cloth press it against the wall until all 
parts stick. If there be rinkles (sic) anywhere, put a large 
piece of paper thereon and rub them out with cloth as before 
mentioned.” 
It will be recalled that Washington with the assistance 
of Lafayette papered the walls at Mount Vernon with 
paper-hangings which he had purchased in Europe. 
Benjamin Franklin also left record of his interest in do- 
mestic employment of this sort. He was in London in 1765, 
when he received from Mrs. Franklin a letter telling of 
details as to the manner in which she had redecorated the 
Franklin house. “The little south room,” wrote she, “I 
have papered, as the walls were much soiled. In this room 
is a carpet I bought cheap for its goodness and nearly new. 
The blue room has the harmonica and the harpsichord, the 
gold sconce, a card table, a set of tea china, the worked 
chairs and screen — a very handsome stand for the teakettle 
to stand upon, and the ornamental china. The papering of 
the room has lost much of its bloom by pasting up.” 
In answer to this we find Franklin referring to this room 
as follows : 
“I suppose the room is too blue, the wood being of the 
same color with the paper and so looks too dark. I would 
have you finish it as soon as you can, thus: Paint the wains- 
cot a dead white; paper the walls blue, and tack the gilt 
border around the cornice. If the paper is not equally 
coloured when pasted on, let it be brushed over again with 
the same colour, and let the papier mache musical figures 
be tacked to the middle of the ceiling. When this is done I 
think it will look very well.” 
WHEN MAILING CUT FLOWERS 
By E. I. F. 
T is one of the pleasures of having a garden 
that we can send away at least some of its 
bloom and fragrance to others less happily 
situated. A box of cut flowers by mail or 
express is certain to delight our city-bound 
friends in mid-Summer. It is worth while 
knowing how to care for and pack the flowers properly in 
order that they may last a long time after being received. 
Sweet peas, gladioli and asters are among the most popu- 
lar of the garden flowers for cutting, and should be removed 
from the plants early in the morning, before they have lost 
their dewy freshness. The best plan then is to put them 
in water and set in a cool cellar until the time for packing 
them arrives. If some shallow cardboard boxes can be 
obtained, they may be lined with newspapers, but with waxed 
paper next to the blossoms. If the newspapers are placed 
in contact with the flowers or the stems they will quickly 
absorb all the moisture, which is, of course, to be avoided. 
I he sweet peas and the gladioli should be cut when the 
first flowers open and are not to be sprinkled. Peonies are 
best cut for shipping when the buds are just opening. It is 
different with the aster and the dahlia, which may be almost 
fully developed. 
The aster is an especially good shipping flower, for it 
lasts a long time after being cut. The “branching” sorts 
are the most desirable, for the handsome blossoms are borne 
on long, stout stems and are easily handled. 
Perhaps the gladiolus is fully as good for sending to 
town as the aster, if cut when the first flower at the bottom 
of the spike appears. Many hundreds of these flowers are 
sent into New York from a big farm up the state each week 
during the season, and are used extensively on the dining- 
tables in the prominent hotels, being prized for their keeping 
qualities as well as their brilliancy. They unfold a flower 
at a time, until the one at the very top of the spike has 
opened a splendid floral parade. 
If the recipient of such a delightful gift as a box of 
gladioli from a country garden will take pains to change the 
water daily, at the same time cutting off a portion of the 
stem and removing the faded flowers, the great, glorious 
spikes of color will not lose their beauty for ten days or 
longer. 
Of the dahlias, the single and decorative varieties are the 
best for cutting; it is hardly worth while trying to ship the 
flow'ers of the cactus type, beautiful as they are. All dahlias 
will last better if placed in a pitcher of water for a few hours 
before being sent away. With them, too, it is an advantage 
to change the water daily and to clip off a bit of the stem. 
Some people recommend stripping the lower part of the 
stems of their leaves and setting them in water as hot as 
can be borne by the hand, leaving them until the water cools. 
Then they may be stood in a pitcher of cold water, to which 
a little salt has been added, but should be kept in a cool and 
dark place for ten or twelve hours. 
RAISING WATERCRESS INDOORS 
N northern France and Belgium grows a 
species of watercress, or cresson-alinois, 
which is much more tender, digestible and 
agreeable to the taste than ordinary water- 
cress. But the most remarkable thing about 
it is the fact that it can be cultivated indoors, 
at any time of the year, on a piece of wet flannel. 
The thing is done in this way: Take a piece of white 
flannel, which has been carefully washed, and stretch it over 
the upturned bottom of a shallow wooden box whose cover 
has been removed, letting the edges of the flannel fall a 
few inches all around. Take pains to make the tension equal 
on all sides, and tie the flannel so that it will remain 
stretched, by a cord running several times round the box and 
carefully knotted. Then pour water upon the flannel until 
it is soaked. If the water causes the flannel to relax in the 
middle, re-stretch it and make it smooth. Next take the 
cress seeds and spread them over the surface of the flannel, 
as regularly as is possible, and close together. Place the 
box in a dark closet, which in the Winter time should be 
warmed, but not too much. Water the seeds once or twice 
a day to prevent them from drying up. If the box is placed 
upon a tank of water the latter will mount by capillarity 
and keep the seeds sufficiently moist. In about three days 
the seeds will begin to swell, and little buds and roots will 
be seen upon them. Now take the box out into the light, 
putting it in the Summer time in a shady place, and in the 
Winter time near a window. If the weather is very cold 
the room should be regularly heated. Water the budding 
plants very frequently and turn the box from time to time 
to cause the stems to mount perpendicularly, for they will 
naturally incline toward the light. When they have attained 
a height of two or three inches, harvest them by cutting close 
to the flannel with scissors. Then wash them and they are 
ready for the table, where they make a delicious relish. 
They were city folks, says a contributor to Everybody’s 
Magazine, and they had just become comfortably estab- 
lished on the newly bought farm. With the help of sugges- 
tions from interested neighbors, they were fitting out the 
place, and it was the wife who approached one of the kindly 
farmers with the question: “How many eggs a day ought 
a really good hen to lay?” 
