18C0.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
293 
The Crassulas, Roclieas, Echeverias, and the 
large genus of Sedum, make up a vegetation 
i peculiar in its aspect, and while many of them 
flower finely, they are interesiing at all times. 
Among the Sedums, S. Sieboldii is a most inter¬ 
esting species. Its foliage is of a peculiar glau¬ 
cous hue, it is hardy, and flowers profusely. 
I Mr. Hogg has sent home from Japan a variety 
of this with mottled foliage, which will doubt¬ 
less, if it proves hard}’-, be a popular favorite. 
TME lHI®nSE!Ht®ILB. 
A Home-made Lamp Bracket. 
The following explains itself, so we offer no 
; comments: 
Mr. Editor. —You said you admired the lamp 
brackets you saw at our house the other day, and 
as that pleases me well. I send you a description 
of how they were made, 
and, if you will excuse tlie 
egotism of my saying so— 
I must add that I admire 
them myself, not so much 
for their beauty,—you may 
pass judgment upon that— 
but for their utility. Well, 
then, you must know I 
have been trying a long 
time to get father to saw 
me out some semi-circular 
pieces of board, with brace 
pieces,to make them of, but 
it has been busy time with 
him and all the rest of man- 
kind, so I could do no bet- 
!• ter than help myself. The 
])iece A, fig. 2, was made of a portion of the head of 
a nail keg, part being split off and the corners 
sawed square, and the sides thus formed rounded 
into the eurve of the head as best I could with a 
hand saw. B, repre ents the brace, a triangular 
piece of ic^h clap¬ 
boarding. Fig. 3 shows 
how the two, with one 
nail to hold them to¬ 
gether, were nailed to 
the wall; one nail going 
through a gimlet hole at 
the notch in the br.ace 
piece, and another driven 
slanting through the top. 
I was lucky in striking 
studs in the wall. Before 
this, however, the cloth 
covering was tacked on to 
the top. This covering I 
made of plain muslin-de¬ 
laine (if striped, the 
stripes to run up and down, it looks very well,) cut¬ 
ting a piece a little wider than thebracepiece is long, 
and long enough to allow for a frill at the top. This 
piece was hemmed on the top and a thread run % 
of an inch from the edge to draw the frill by, and it 
was drawn so as just to go round 
the top piece which was covered 
with the same material. A thread 
was also “ caught iu ” at regular 
intervals along the bottom edge 
of the cloth so as to draw it 
into regular plaits, and then this 
cover was tacked to the top, the 
gathering thread being covered by 
a fancy braid ^ inch wide. Then 
the bracket was nailed up, the 
bottom gathered and tied to the front of the brace, 
and a rusette was made and pinned on. Thin stuff 
requires a lining to prevent the light showing 
through, for which brown paper will do. As you 
saw, I made a pair and placed one on each side of 
the mirror at the toilet stand, so high that lamps set 
upon them w ll shed a good light upon the head of 
a person before the glass. M. 
A Very Pretty and Cheap Tidy. 
An especial interest in those articles of feminine 
contrivance called “Tidies,” was awakened in us a 
few days since, by our setting down (in b.achelor’s 
quarters, of course,) in a very comfortable rocking 
chair with a high back and inviting arms. The 
day was warm and damp, and the chair was a 
drowsy one, so we were very quiet for some min¬ 
utes, and when finally .aroused, found that we were 
held fast, Abaslom like, by the hair of the head. 
That was a “sticker,” and the increased reg.ard for 
will doubtless stick by us as long as the recol¬ 
lection. One of our lady friends lends us a neat 
tidy for a pattern, of which we present an engrav¬ 
ing. It is made of simple “Swiss” or “Book mus¬ 
lin,” which is cut square and hemmed with a nar¬ 
row hem, and then “braided” with narrow white 
linen braid in any pretty pattern. That of the one 
we present is simple, yet pleasing. In forming the 
points of sti aight parallel lines ; braid of two differ¬ 
ent widths is used, with pretty effect. Finally, the 
tidy is bordered wdth a narrow white linen fringe, 
which may or may not have an open heading. 
These little affitirs wash and “ do up” very easily, 
so the ladies say, and are just as pretty as if they 
cost five or-ten dollars. They may be made of dif¬ 
ferent sizes to suit the backs of chairs or the artns 
of lounges ; and if there are two or more used, it 
gives a pleasing variety, even if they arc made alike, 
to arrange some with the points down, and others 
horizontally. It is a useful practice, and quite a test 
of taste and ingenuity to devise pretty original 
patterns for the braiding. 
All About Mens’ Shirts. 
[If there is anywhere a woman who has had “ super¬ 
vision of’ a husband's wardrobe for a dozen or more 
years, witliout having liad any experience similar to that 
so failhfnlly recorded below, vve would be glad to find 
her out; she would doubtless be able to contribute to the 
Hou.sehold Department.of the Agriculturist valuable in¬ 
formation on other “vexed questions” wetliink of.— Ed.] 
A long time ago I undertook the supervision of 
a set of shirts, including, of course, their wearer. 
It was the hight of my young ambition that the 
man should be exactly fitted by his shirts, concern¬ 
ing which he began to make complaints just one 
moon after I took him in charge.“ AVhat is the 
matter with them?” I meekly inquired-“There 
isn’t a single one that fits me.”.... Totally un¬ 
conscious of the inherent wickedness of the article 
concerned, I flattered myself that the ditiiculty 
would be easily remedied. So I ripped here and 
basted there, pulled up this shoulder and pulled 
down that, until I thought I had got it.-Mis¬ 
taken mortal! it would not fit!-1 made another 
series of experiments with equally futile results. 
Then I consulted one or two friends, and felt sure 
I had at last discovered where the shoe—I me.an 
the s/rirf—pinched. I applied a cure, but the thing 
wasn’t cured. Next I employed a tailor to try bis 
skill. Not one whit better. The man was getting 
—and I was getting—desperate. 
As my dernier resort, I summoned a council of 
sewing-society women, and we went into a com¬ 
mittee of the whole. For hours we expended our 
united wits on a single shirt, often subjecting the 
luckless owner to successive trials of the garment. 
“ Don’t that now fit your neck exactly ?” asked the 
head of the conspiracy, as for the forty-filth time 
we g.athered around our victim.“Why, yes,” 
with a charming smile of relief, and twisting his 
head .about experimentally.-“ Really, I can’t sug¬ 
gest any improvement.”.... “Oh! be joyful!” ex¬ 
claimed I, clapping my hands.“Suppose,” said 
one of the wise women, looking at me over her 
glasses as if some important idea had struck her, 
“ suppose we cut out a new shirt on the improved 
plan, and if that suits, we’ll take a pattern from it.” 
....“Agreed,” cried I, quite jubilant, and ran to a 
chest for the cotton.So we cut, basted, and tried 
on—sewed and tried on—starched, ironed, and tried 
on.“ Capit.al!” affirmed our representative of 
the lordly sex. “ Not a thread amiss. It is the first 
time in my life that a shirt has ex.actly fitted me.” 
As a grateful memorial, I made up six new ones 
after that identical pattern. We entered on our 
triumphal epoch.Woe worth the day ! Must I 
own that before forty-ciijht hours had passed, that 
exactly fitted" individual called me aside, and 
pointed with crnel signilicance to his neck.“I 
am very sorry,” with the blandest air in the world. 
“I suppose your mistake came from j'our great de¬ 
sire not to choke me.”_“ Mistake! choke 3 ’ou!” 
echoed I, convulsively, a little tempted to try the 
latter.“Don’t be troubled. It requiies only a 
slight alteration—a trifle cut out of the binding, 
that’s all. You see its rather large.”.... “Why 
couldn’t he have found it out before?”—to myself. 
—Then aloud with great dignity: “ Tell mo precisely 
how much to cutout.”_“Well, I should say 
just about an inch.”_“Just about an inch,” 
muttered I sarcastically, adding, “ I believe the 
mischief is all in your neck, which dilates and con¬ 
tracts on purpose to torment me.”.... He smiled 
kindly on my wr.athful tears, and I—well—when 
the shirt w.as “ rough-dry,” I dutifully cut out the 
inch, basted the binding, and tried it on again. 
“ That is just what I wanted. It does very nicely 
now, you see.” working his chin uj) and down. 
“Yes, I see. I did before.”_“Practice makes 
perfect, and this time you hit the nail on the head.” 
When the change was completed, he once more 
tried on the sliirt, and unequivocally assured me 
“ it fitted to a T.” So I made the same alteration in 
the other five, and sat down to take a bit of comfort. 
Can you imagine what next happened?-In the 
course of a fortnight, the man gave me an invita¬ 
tion to ride with him, which I was only too happy 
to accept. How extremely gr.acious and agreeable 
he was! I might have suspected something was 
coming. From one thing to another he led the 
conversation, until finally he approached the old 
hateful topic, (he had on one of his new shirts.)... 
“I don’t mind my vexation,” remarked I innocent¬ 
ly, “now that you are at last suited.” Then, sup¬ 
posing the matter forever at rest, I turned to a 
pleasanter subject. But coming back to the shirts 
again, his face assumed such a deprecating look, 
that I exclaimed in .alarm : “ Not hing ails them 
now, I hope.”_“ Only a very little thing, and 
easily altered. In your fear of getting them too 
large, they are a trifle too small—only a trifle.”- 
My heart swelled but I uttered not a word. 
When we reached home I made him measure off 
on his forefinger exactly how much he wished in¬ 
serted. The shirt he had on happened to be the 
identical one I had first altered. I was fortunate 
enough to discover in my work-basket the very 
piece I had cut out. And I was malicious enough to 
exult at its proving the exact measure of the addi¬ 
tion wanted. So I sowed it in again, repeating to 
myself all the while, “ Oh the crochetyness of man !” 
Will you believe me when I whisper it confiden¬ 
tially, that after all this, for many years, I alter¬ 
nated between cutting out and putting in the self¬ 
same piece—the man’s neck invariably jilaying me 
false. Of late, however, I have dropped the labor 
of sewing, having discovered that pinniny over one 
week, and unpinning the next, answers all the pur- 
Fig. 2. 
