8 
SEE©-TliE AH© WAIVES!. 
top of it. and begin by fastening on few 
delicate flowers, or one 'large, handsome 
one, for the centre piece, winding the 
string about each stem as you add the flow¬ 
ers and leaves to the bouquet. Always 
place the flowers with the shortest stems at 
the top, preserving all those with long- 
stems for the base, and finish off the bou¬ 
quet with a fringe of finely cut foliage. 
Then cut all the stems evenly, wrap damp 
cotton aronnd them, and cover the stems 
with a paper cut in pretty lace designs. In 
making bouquets from garden flowers, 
such as are most easy to procure, the flow¬ 
ers can be arranged flatly, and a back 
ground made from sprays of evergreen. 
House Plants. 
In watering plants, care is necessary. 
Under the treatment of people of limited 
experience in window gardening, plants 
are apt to suffer from a lack of water or 
from a too abundant supply—they are 
either starved or drowned. The result in 
either case is about the same; the leaves 
turn yellow drop off, and the whole plant 
presents a sickly and forlorn appearance. 
Nothing is more depressing to a lover of 
flowers than a sickly, starved looking 
specimen of vegetation. Much less water 
is necessary in cold than in warm weather, 
as plants then grow but slowly. Morning 
seems to be the most suitable time for wat¬ 
ering, and luke-warm water should be used 
applied to the surface of the soil. I have 
seen some poured into the saucers of the 
pots, to soak up into the earth at its leisure; 
but nature does not perform her operations 
by such a process, but sends the rain from 
above, and probably her example will be 
safe to follow. The plants should be wat¬ 
ered thoroughly so that the water will 
penetrate to their roots. Those who are 
constantly dribbling a small supply of water 
on their plants will not have them in a 
flourishing condition for any length of 
time. The reason is obvious; the surface 
of the soil is kept moist, but the lower 
roots perish for the want of water. A 
plant should not be watered until it is in a 
condition to receive a liberal supply of the 
element, which being given, it only asks to 
be left alone for a season. Besides Meter¬ 
ing the roots, the foliage requires nearly as 
much attention. Warm baths, showering, 
etc., are necessary to remove dust and dirt, 
which are as injurious to the plant as they 
are to the human race. 
NOVEMBER. 
The wild November comes at last 
Beneath a veil of rain; 
The night wind blows its folds aside, 
Her face is full of pain. 
The latest of her race, she takes 
The autumn’s vacant throne; 
She has but one short moon to live, 
And she must live alone. 
A barren realm of M'itliered fields, 
Bleak M’oods of fallen leaves. 
The palest morns that ever dawned; 
The dreariest of eves; 
It is no wonder that sbe comes, 
Poor month! wdtli tears of pain; 
For what can one so hopeless do 
But M-eep and weep again? 
—Richard Henry Stoddard. 
To Keep Sweet Potatoes. 
One of our readers in Hendricks county 
has a plan of his own for storing sv^eet po¬ 
tatoes which has proved entirely successful 
for the past five years. He piles them in a 
corner of the cellar, immediately after dig¬ 
ging, in as compact a manner as possible, 
and covers them first with a coating of 
coarse manure or cut straw, and after this 
with two or three inches of dust or dirt. 
He then places boxes or barrels, filled 
with Irish potatoes around the pile and 
pours a jfew bushels over them upon the 
coating of earth. The effect of all this 
blanketing is to keep the s-weet potatoes 
warm, and at the same time allow the mois¬ 
ture arising from them to escape. During 
the five years our friend has practiced this 
simple plan he has never lost a sweet potato 
by decay. We think it M-ell worth trying, 
and M r e intend to test it this winter. 
—Indiana Farmer. 
