1865.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
21 
this ornamentation, and a little ingenuity will 
contrive others. After all is done, cover the 
twigs with a coat of boiled linseed oil. The ped- 
estal should be ver}' firm. It often happens that 
a tree must be remov- 
ed fi'om the very place 
where a vase would be 
desirable. If the tree 
is sawed off at the prop- 
er bight, a veiy firm ped- 
estal will be secured, to 
which llie vase can be 
spiked. Tlie desig.n at 
fig. 1, was furnislied by 
"A Subscriber," in Queens Co. He streugthcus 
the support by the addition of brackets sawed 
out of plauk. Ivy or Virginia Creeper, may be 
planted to climb upon the pedestal. AVlieu a 
stump of this kind is not available, a portion of 
the trunk of a tree can bo set fij-mly into the 
ground. Sometimes baskets are built around 
tlie trunk of a living tree, and filled willi flower- 
ing plants. This we do not consider in good 
taste. A tree is an object of beauty in itself, and 
any addition of this kind detracts from it, and 
spoils its expression. The vase may be filled 
with earth and planted with flowering plants, 
or pots may be set witliin it and covered with 
moss. During hot weather care should l^e taken 
that the plants do not suffer for lack of water. 
House Plants in Winter. 
Tlio attempts to grow plants in close rooms, 
overlieated by hot air furnaces, are generally 
failures. The plants become sickly and " drawn 
up," in the parlors of our first-class liouses, 
while in those of less pretension we frequently 
see them vigorous and flourishing. In liouses 
without " modern improvements," the air is not 
heated until its capacity for moisture is such 
as to greedily take it from the plants, as well 
as from the iiersons who dwell there, nor are 
the windows sealed so tightly that the plants 
can not have a breath of fresh air from without. 
If people will make a climate in their houses 
like that of a desert, they must content them- 
selves with such plants as are naturally adapted 
to arid regions. Cactuses, Crassulas, Sedums 
and such thick-skinned plants will endure an 
amount of roasting and drying which would 
kill a Camellia or a Rose. Supposing the plants 
to be well established in good soil, the three 
points to be attended to are : air, water and clean- 
liness. Plants need fresh ah', and every day 
when the weather is not too cold, the sash 
should be let down at the top, and on very mild 
days kept open during the warnier part of the 
day. In the first place, cleauliuess is to be ob- 
served with the pots. If they have become cover- 
ed with a green film, they are to be set in a pail 
of water and soaked awhile, and the green mat- 
ter washed off with a cloth or scrubbing brush. 
The inside of the pot should be clean down to 
the earth, and the surface of the soil free from 
moss and fallen leaves. As to the plants them- 
selves, the two great troubles are dust and in- 
sects. A paper or light muslin screen laid over 
them while the room is being swept, will keep 
off a great deal of dust, but even this will not 
obviate the necessity for washing and syringing. 
Broad and smooth-leaved plants maybe washed 
with a soft sponge, or what is better, placing 
the hand over the earth, turn the plant upside 
down, and move it briskly about for a few 
seconds in a vessel of water. Then set the 
plant upright, wash each leaf between the 
finger and thumb, and afterwards give it an- 
other rinsing. A plant too large to be treated in 
this way, may be syringed ; or lay it down and 
let water fall upon it from a considerable hight 
from a watering pot. This can be done out of 
doors in mild weather, and in cold weather in 
a sink or bathing tub. If plants are frequently 
washed, they will be but little troubled by in- 
sects. The red spider is quite averse to mois- 
ture ; the green fly, however, likes it, but may 
be destroyed so readily by tobacco smoke, that 
only neglected plants will sufter from this 
cause. Tlie mealy bug is so largo that it may 
be easily picked otT. Watering must be properly 
attended to, and while the plant must not suffer 
from lack of moisture, the roots must not be kept 
saturated with water. The souud of the pot 
when struck by the knufckles is quite different, 
when the ball of earth is wet, from what it is 
when dry. This and the lagging look of the 
plant will indicate that water is needed. A lit- 
tle practice will soon enable one to anticipate 
the wants of the plant, and to supply water at 
the proper time. When the ball of earth be- 
comes dry, it takes water a long wliile to pene- 
trate it, and surface waterings do not accom- 
plish the object. In this case, set the pot in a 
pail of water, and let it soak until the earth is 
thorough!}' wetted through. If proper care in 
the respects above mentioned fail to induce a 
healthy growth, then the plant must be repotted 
with fresli earth, and liave a portion of its top 
cut back. Irregularities in shape must be cor- 
rected from time to time by pinching off the 
shoots which may start to grow out of place. 
Putting^ Moisture in the Air Important. 
Every person should understand this sclculillc 
fact, viz. ; that whenever air becomes warmer, it 
secretes or hides a certain amount of moisture. To 
iliustr.ite; In a room 14 feet square and 10 feet 
high, the air will hold 2% gills of watery vapor, 
when it is just at the freezing point (32''). But 
he.it the air up to the comfortable warmth of 
70°, and it will then hold S gills of watery vapor. 
The air will obtain this extra 5}{ gills of water 
from some source if possible. If not supplied 
artificially, it will absorb the particles of moisture 
from the furniture, drying and cracking it, and es- 
pecially from the skin and the Inugs, causing one 
to feel a sense of husky dryness, and often faintness 
and drowsiness will be experienced. A room 10 
feet square and 10 feet high contains 1000 cubic 
feet of air. A gill of w-iter weighs 1750 grains. 
The following table shows the number of grains of 
watery vapor required to saturate 1000 cubic feet 
of air when at the different temperatures named: 
1000 feet of .lir at <P, contains ISO ffvains of water. 
1000 feet of air at Z'i°, contains 23.-t0 crains of water. 
1000 feet of air at 40'^, contains 3Ot»0 srains of water. 
1000 feet of ail- at 5CP, contains 4*3-10 ;z^ains of water. 
1000 feet of ail- at 60*. contains 5S20 (trains of water. 
1000 feet of air at 70^, contains 7940 grains of water. 
1000 feet of air at 80^. contains 10730 grains of water. 
1000 feet of air at 90°, contains 14*0 grains of water. 
1000 feet of air at 100", contains 19120 grains of water. 
The Practical Lesson to be learned from this is, 
that if we would have the atmosphere of a warm 
room pleasant and healthful, and save the furniture 
from becoming dry and cracked, we must alw.iys 
provide moisture. A wide pan of water should al- 
ways he placed on the stove, or in the heating fur- 
nace, at a point where it will be heated enough to 
send off vapor into the air, and it should be kept 
supplied with water at all times. Towels, napkins, 
or other cloths hung near the fire, and wetted as 
often as they become dry, will impart an agreeable 
feeling to the air of a warm room. Every lady 
must have noticed how pleasant the change from 
the dry sitting or dining room, to the laundry or 
kitchen where damp clothes are hanging around, 
if not in so large quantity as to produce over- 
dampness. The objection to stoves and hot-air 
furnaces has no doubt resulted from the absence 
of sufflcieut moisture-supplying apparatus. The 
above hints are import.ant for school-rooms and 
churches, and if attended to will promote health 
and comfort, and often remove dullness from the 
pupils, and drowsiness from the worEliippers. 
A Short Chapter on Bonnets, etc. 
The Fashion in 1860. Tlie FiisUion in lSo3. 
What Next? 
" That's what we have come to," exclaimed our 
artist, as he finished the "Fashion Plate " below. 
He had been walking through Broadway in this 
city, noticing with more surprise than admiraliuu 
the fantastic forms of dress, particularly of head- 
gear, exhibited by the extra fashionables. He 
may have exaggerated just a little for artistic 
effect, and, being a man, perhaps he does not know 
exactly how to view such things. Ho, however, de- 
clares that ladies do wear large, stuffed birds on 
Out '* Fashion Plate," for 1865, 
their " pork pie " hats, bags of something on their 
shoulders, and we have been assured privately that 
they certainly sometimes carry "rats" behind their 
ears. The artist did not quite succeed in hiding the 
one in the picture ; the ladies manage to keep 
them concealed. — Seriously, in some of the recent 
styles of dress, novelty and display are more sought 
than comfort and elegance. Fashion is a powerful 
tyrant, but we trust that the good sense of free 
American women is stronger than any despot, and 
that they will leave absurdities of dress to those 
have no higher aim th; n " to be seen of men." 
Taking Tea in the Country. 
We have undergone many trials in our life, but 
none have more thoroughly tested our powers of 
endurance than the attempts we have made to do 
full justice to the hospitality of our country friends 
— or rather to fulfil the expectations of our host- 
esses — who have invited na "to tea." We h.ave 
very vividly in memory certain tables, which would 
