1882.] 
AMERICAN A GRIGTJLTURIST. 
503 
A Bit of Greenery in Winter. 
However desirable it may be to have flowers in 
the dwelling in winter, they are not within the cir¬ 
cumstances of every one. The house may not be 
suitable, the hands too busy to allow of even a little 
care to be given to flowers, or one may live where the 
plants' can only be procured with great difficulty. It 
is wonderful what a few green leaves will do in en¬ 
livening an otherwise cheerless room, and green of 
some kind is within the reach of almost every one. 
If living where flower-pots are unknown, then use 
something else. Old fruit or tomato cans may be cov¬ 
ered with some inconspicuous material, and answer 
well. Convert some kind of a dish into a basket to 
hang in the window. One of the best baskets we 
have seen was an antiquated wire ox-muzzle, lined 
with moss. As to the plants, of course one must 
rely upon the wild ones. If there is a cranberry 
bog within reach, a clump of vines filled with fruit, 
makes a charming object. The little shrub com¬ 
mon in such bogs, known as Leather-leaf ( Cassan¬ 
dra ,) will bloom if the stems are kept in water or in 
wet moss, as well as rooted plants. Another bog- 
plant, the Side-saddle Flower, or Pitcher-plant ( Sar- 
racenia ,) is very pleasing. A large plant will flour¬ 
ish finely in a bowl of wet moss, or in wet sand. In 
moist woods the little Partridge-berry, or Twin- 
berry ( Mitchella ,) forms dense mats of green, stud¬ 
ded with coral-like berries. A plate or saucer filled 
with this, makes as bright a table ornament as one 
need have. Indeed, there are few localities that do 
not afford some plant which may serve as a bit of 
green in winter for the eye to rest upon. If the 
room is kept warm enough at night, a sweet-potato 
placed part of its length in water, will give a luxu¬ 
riant vine of richest green. Then there is the large 
end of a carrot to be converted into a hanging-bas¬ 
ket. Scoop out a cavity, and hang the carrot top 
downwards, keeping the hollow filled with water. 
If nothing better can be done, place some heads of 
wheat in water, until the grain sprouts. If no 
wheat is to be bad, a saucer of sand, or one filled 
with cotton or moss, in either case kept wet, may 
be sown with grass-seed, or flax-seed, and as the 
tiny plants appear, the children will find something 
in their development to daily interest them. 
Nervous Exhaustion, 
The natural cure for disease from over-work is 
rest, but here a great mistake is sometimes made. 
When a person is tired out or exhausted by too 
much physical labor of any kind, we do not say, 
“ You have woriced your muscles too exclusively ; 
you should have given more of your vital energy 
to mental work, and to restore the equilibrium you 
must immediately take up some mental work. 
Rest yourself from a hard day’s labor at hay¬ 
making, or washing, by an hour’s work at 
mathematics.” The very tired man or woman does 
not care even to read, but inclines to seek entire 
rest, perfect laziness, or “ balmy sleep,” until the 
strength recuperates. It is quite as unreasonable 
to urge physical exercise upon a person whose 
brain is really tired with labor. Let a little rest 
intervene. The general health is best maintained 
by a proper intermingling of physical and mental 
exercise, but perfect health requires some hours of 
perfect rest in every twenty-four, and some time 
for simple recreation, or what children call play. 
Sometimes what we call “laziness ” ought to be 
allowed. A child (or a man) who grows fat and 
lazy from over-feeding, should be put upon a 
plainer diet and urged to exercise. But those who 
grow languid and have little appetite from nervous 
exhaustion, ought to be carefully nourished by nu¬ 
tritious food of easy digestion (since the digestive 
organs are probably in a weak condition), and al¬ 
lowed to rest and gather up strength before being 
called upon to expend it. No stimulants will 
afford any real help. They call out the strength 
temporarily, and make one feel strong while the 
influence lasts, but this is only wasting the 
strength. One may live for a time upon stimu¬ 
lants, and appear to be helped by them, but only 
genuine nourishment really builds up the strength. 
Food alone, however good, cannot cure nervous 
exhaustion. Pure air, sunlight (all of this that one 
can get aud endure), cleanliness, warm, easy cloth¬ 
ing, and restful surroundings, are all essential, and 
these natural agencies alone will effect a cure in 
almost every case if taken in time, while the 
case is curable. The food taken should be real 
nourishment, not simply the pretty little invalid’s 
dishes, made up of delicate starches and flavorings, 
that one often sees recommended by ignorance. 
Starch has nothing for the brain and nerves, and 
for this reason white bread is very poor food. 
Flour should be used that contains all of the gluten 
of the wheat. The “ entire wheat flour ” is recom¬ 
mended by physicians as the best. Oat-meal, good 
milk, eggs, beef, and tbe best fruits and vegeta¬ 
bles, all help to build up strength. Pure air night 
and day are needed, and the time should be spent 
out of doors as much as possible. 
For those who are only beginning to suffer from 
nervous exhaustion, light gardening and other 
employment may be useful. Those who are much 
worn down with brain labor, had better not try any¬ 
thing at first more laborious than riding, as walk¬ 
ing wearies an already tired brain. There is no 
more healthful and enjoyable exercise than light 
horseback riding; it brings many muscles into 
play, diverting the mind, and gives tone to both 
mind and body. “ Diet and Quiet ” are among 
the best of our physicians. 
Notes from a Southern Home. 
My Corner. —Every woman, I suppose, has her 
“comer” in one of the man} 7 different apartments 
in a house containing a large family. I sit in mine 
as I write. It does not look as if some fairy wand 
had latelj 7 touched its furniture. It is simply a 
deep bay-window, with shades all raised, for I do 
not believe that there can be health where there is 
not light and a reasonable amount of sun. There 
is an abundance of flowers in my corner; not 
rare exotics; indeed some are only wild flowers. 
Flower Management. —My flowers need but 
little care. 1 use home-made trays to keep from 
the floor the water which drips through the boxes 
in which I usually keep them. One of the 
boys made the frames. To be large enough to 
catch the drip from half a dozen boxes of flowers, 
each a foot square, I have a frame 14 by 75 inches, 
or two frames 14 by 38 inches. I always have the 
frames a little larger than the boxes over them. 
These frames, which are an inch deep, are covered 
with stout oil-cloth, and when finished, are like an 
oil-cloth waiter. Set a frame on the floor, and place 
the stand for the flowers, etc., on it. Boxes are more 
durable, and, if neatly made, even prettier than 
the earthenware we buy. I have to destroy grubs, 
etc., iu the soil of my flower-boxes. I slake a 
piece of lime, and then add an abundance of water. 
After standing a day or so, pour off the clear water 
and use it upon the earth infested, but do not 
sprinkle the plants themselves. 
Feather Flowers.- —Just now is the season for 
Grosbeaks. The boys, on their return from gun¬ 
ning, have brought me the birds, and I picked them 
myself, as the delicate gray of the feathers struck 
my fancy. I selected all I wanted, being careful 
not to let them get damp. Now I have half 
completed a wreath, about a foot in length. To 
make a flower, of course the number of feathers 
depends on the size and kind of flower desired. 
In making a flower with a single row of petals, I 
arrange the feathers betvveen my thumb and finger 
until they suit my ideas—until they form a perfect 
flower ; then I run a piece of wire about two inches 
long up through the quills of the feathers, that ap¬ 
pear below the fingers, then wrap the stems — the 
wire being in the center—just while I hold them. 
Green or brown silk will answer, but silk the color 
of the feathers is more tasteful. In gray, the darkest 
shade is used as leaves, and a pretty contrast is 
made when the lightest is employed for the petals. 
Children’s Under-Garments.—I think there 
would be less indigestion and restlessness among 
growing children, if they were supplied with 
proper clothing and food. Over-careful parents 
persist in housing their children, building them up 
on stimulants, etc., treating them generally like 
hot-house plants, when really all they require is 
the ordinary care you would give any other grow¬ 
ing animal. Of course it will be understood that 
I am speaking from a physical point entirely. 
Children, to be healthy, must have fresh air and 
all the exercise they can get, properly cooked food, 
with little or no grease used in preparation, espe¬ 
cially in this southern climate. Cotton-seed oil is 
a good—in that it is more wholesome—substitute 
for lard and other animal fats. Exercise both de¬ 
velops children’s muscles, and hardens them, and 
prevents that unhealthful flabbiness so often met 
with. A child should wear nothing iu the least 
tight or heavy around the waist. To prevent this, 
and still not burden the child with an unnecessary 
amount of clothing, I have made this week sets of 
(I suppose we may call them) supporters. They are 
made with straps short enough to allow the weight 
of the garments to be borne by the shoulders only. 
Children’s Drink.—I find that in such weather 
as we have in the South, the quantity of water 
children would drink to quench their thirst would 
be very unwholesome, so I keep lemons prepared 
in this way: roll well a half dozen lemons at a 
time, slice thinly with a very sharp knife, so that 
no juice is extracted in cutting. Put a layer of 
slices half-inch thick in a wide-mouthed jar (stone- 
china keeps coolest), then sprinkle liberally with 
sugar. In this way go on until the jar is filled. If 
ice is handy, place a piece in the mouth of the 
jar, and set it in a cool place. A piece or two and 
a spoonful of juice is all that is needed in a glass 
of water. Sometimes the children take a glass of 
milk before going to bed. Southern Home. 
Keep Out the Cold Air. 
It is much better to have the ventilation of our 
dwellings under control than to have a constant 
inpouring of air, no matter how cold it may be. 
The windows, especially in houses built, as cheaply 
as possible, let in all around (and particularly where 
the two sashes meet,) an astonishing amount of 
air, so much that in severe weather it is almost im¬ 
possible to make the room comfortably warm. By 
checking this inflow of cold air from without, the 
same amount of fuel that before failed to make the 
room warm enough, will be so much more effective 
that considerably less coal or wood will be burned. 
“ Weather strips ” of various kinds have been in¬ 
vented to be used around windows and doors for 
the purpose to which we have referred. The essen¬ 
tial part of these is a narrow strip of rather stiff 
India-rubber fabric, attached to a strip of wood or 
metal, which may be fastened to the window in 
such a manner that the rubber will cover the cracks 
between the sashes and the frames, and elsewhere. 
Those strips are very useful, but are uot to be had 
in all places; besides, while not very costly, they 
involve an outlay which many would gladly avoid. 
Before the rubber strips were introduced, woollen, 
ones were in common use. The material known 
as “list” or “listing,” the marginal strips being 
woven on broadcloth and other goods, is convenient, 
and costs little or nothing. This material is not 
obtainable everywhere, nor is it the best substitute 
for the window strips. By pasting strips of paper 
around the sashes the current of air can be kept 
out quite as completely as by any other method. 
Brown paper will answer as well as any, and if the 
job be neatly done, it will not be unsightly. When 
no longer needed, the paper maybe pulled off after 
it has been wetted with warm water. One sash in 
each room should be left for necessary ventilation, 
and some movable strip, such as lath, covered with 
cloth, provided to close its cracks if necessary. A 
strip of board or plank, covered with some fabric, 
to be used to close the crack at the bottom of each 
door, will be found very useful. 
