Think over that plan for a fair attrac¬ 
tion described last week. It is some¬ 
thing 1 which ought to interest the women 
folks, particularly those who wish to 
earn a little money. If money is to be 
spent at the fairs, why shouldn’t it go 
into the pockets of the farmers’ families, 
instead of the sharpers’ pocketbooks ? 
* 
Woman suffrage has been established 
for some time in New Zealand. It is 
said that it is quite common in the 
ladies’ gallery of the House to see ladies 
engaged in sewing while listening to the 
debates. So, you see, that the privilege 
of voting is not going to unsex women. 
Nor are they going to settle down con¬ 
tent to be ignorant of the responsibili¬ 
ties which go with the privilege of 
suffrage. 
* 
A husband and wife who disagreed on 
the subject of the husband’s authority, 
took their case into the courts of this 
city. Justice Williams, of the Appel¬ 
late Court, said that while the husband 
was legally the head of the family, prac¬ 
tically, the wife should have her way at 
home, and be allowed to manage and 
control the details of housekeeping and 
servants. In the Judge’s opinion, “an 
intelligent woman should, certainly, not 
be subject to humiliation by her hus¬ 
band, by the assertion that he is master 
and she must obey him.” Wise Judge, 
to see that some things which are legal 
are not practicable in this age ! 
* 
One of the working girls’ clubs in New 
York has, for some time, had a circle 
composed of married women who were 
formerly members of the club. Neces¬ 
sarily the topics which interest them are 
somewhat different from those the work¬ 
ing girl usually discussed. But in both 
cases, the questions which they discuss 
are, usually, the practical problems of 
every-day life. It is rather significant 
that one of the subjects under discussion 
among those wives and mothers was, 
“ What is to be done when the head of 
the house shows a disposition to shirk 
the support of the family ?” 
BASKETS OF WIRE NETTING. 
FOB USE AND ORNAMENT. 
H AVE you considered the merits of 
wire netting for decorative and 
useful household articles ? The hard¬ 
ware stores of any city keep wire goods 
by the yard in great variety of weights 
and patterns. A very unique waste bas¬ 
ket was made from the kind used for a 
v.ine trellis—one of the finer patterns. It 
was shaped like a length of stovepipe, 
only larger, say, 10 or 12 inches in diame¬ 
ter. It was seamed up one side by the 
aid of a pair of pincers, the clinching 
being done on the inside to save raw 
edges on the outside. A circular piece 
of strong mill-board was wired into the 
bottom for a foundation. A bit of sand¬ 
paper smoothed the edges of the mill- 
board after it was cut. The top of the 
basket was slashed down in five places, 
and the netting bent outward as repre¬ 
sented in Fig. 153. The rough edges 
were covered with a wide red tape, a 
shirred lining of turkey-red calico was 
put inside, and big bows of the same 
ornamented the outside. The bows were 
set at the angles formed by the slashes. 
A stout wire covered with red tape 
stiffened the top of the basket, and kept 
it in shape. This basket might be made 
much handsomer by substituting silk 
and ribbon for the calico lining and bows. 
The sling newspaper case was made 
of a piece of steel wire netting 3G inches 
in length by 15 inches in width. A large 
cord of steel-colored silk was whip¬ 
stitched to the edge. The ends were 
then brought together, and loops added 
of a size large enough to slip over the 
steel rod by which it is suspended from 
the wall. See Fig. 153. 
A wire basket for flowers is really 
very pretty and easily made from a 
piece of wire netting large enough for 
the bottom and sides of the basket. Cut 
from the corners squares corresponding 
to the depth of the sides. Lace the cor¬ 
ners together, fill with damp moss or 
bracken, and set flowers into the moss. 
These wire baskets are a simple and 
serviceable decoration for the cemetery 
on Memorial Day, or for the tables at a 
lawn party A funnel-shaped wall bas¬ 
ket would hold dried flowers and grasses 
or, filled with gray moss, would support 
a bottle of water to nourish a German 
ivy vine. 
Wire netting of the heavier kinds 
makes admirable foundations for large 
floral designs such as “Gates Ajar,” 
lyres, steps, ladders, drums, etc. The 
hardware dealer will be able, general¬ 
ly, to cut it for you, and with broom 
wire or the raveled wire from window 
netting, and plenty of leaves and flowers, 
the foundation may be satisfactorily 
covered. 
At a May party this year, there was 
a unique decoration in the center of 
one of the tables. It looked like two 
palm leaf fans covered with Maidenhair 
fern, and lying crossed on a bed of apple 
blossoms. The palm-leaf shapes were, 
in fact, cut from window screen, covered 
with Maidenhair, and laid upon a platter 
of water, and the spaces around them 
filled with apple blossoms. 
CHARLOTTE WHITCOMB. 
THE HOUSEWIFE’S TIME. 
N otwithstanding the fact that 
there are so many improvements 
and inventions at the present day which 
have a strong tendency to ease the rug¬ 
gedness of the different walks of life, 
and especially that of housekeeping, it 
is nothing uncommon to hear of a house¬ 
wife complaining that she has no time 
for this or that pleasure or recreation. 
There is no time for reading ; no time 
to call on her neighbors, not to mention 
the visiting of her friends ; no time to 
play, even with her children ; in fact, no 
time for anything but the same old 
drudgery, day after day, without cessa¬ 
tion. What is there to justify the plea 
that such a woman should be a domestic 
drudge ? Is it necessary, or does it fol¬ 
low as a consequence, that she must be 
dull, dowdy and old-fashioned, simply 
because she is a housekeeper ? Of course, 
it does not. Moreover, for her to think 
so, is not only absurd, but is something 
worse ; she is doing herself an injustice, 
a wickedness, when she sacrifices her 
whole life in caring only for bodily 
wants, and completely ignores the needs 
of the higher nature. 
To preserve communications with the 
world by the perusal of good papers, to 
acquire better thoughts and purer pur¬ 
poses by reading the works of our best 
authors, to maintain sociality with old 
acquaintances by visiting as well as by 
letter writing, and, above all, to retain 
her youth and beauty as much as possi¬ 
ble, ought to be the duty, as well as the 
desire and pleasure, of every housewife. 
How is such a thing attainable, do you 
ask ? Simply by having the housework 
so arranged that an hour a day, at least, 
can be secured for reading, or for a walk 
or drive. Incessant labor of nearly one 
nature, is not desirable. It not only has 
a tendency to age a woman before her 
time, but she is hardly ever the gainer 
by it as far as the work itself is con¬ 
cerned. Therefore, it is not a waste of 
time if she stops each day for a while. 
Many women, however, will assume 
undue drudgery, make slaves of them¬ 
selves, as it were, that their children 
may have pleasures and advantages 
which they, for their part, never en¬ 
joyed. Sometimes this is all right 
enough, but more often it is wrong. 
A colt may be taught to be driven when 
very young, although it is not made to 
pull any load to speak of. It is much 
the same with children. Moreover, when 
they have once been broken to the har¬ 
ness, duties will be much easier assumed 
by them when they come to join the 
throng in life’s pathway, than if they had 
always “run wild;” while the mother 
herself will have chances more often to 
ease up in the traces a little, and enjoy 
something of the “ world beautiful.” 
FRED. O. SIBLEY. 
SOMETHING ABOUT ROSES. 
O NE cannot select roses, hit or miss, 
from a florist’s list, and have them 
come up to expectations. They will 
come very much hit or miss, with a great 
overlapping on to the miss side, let me 
assure you. I put out 12 everblooming 
roses four seasons ago, and of that col¬ 
lection, there are six survivors, the 
others having been frozen out, or suf¬ 
focated, or something or other. It is a 
very fine point to give them just the 
proper protection during the winter. 
The “noble six” are the Meteor, An¬ 
toine Verdier, Souvenir de Wootton, Papa 
Gontier, llermosa and Queen Scarlet. 
The last named is always classed in the 
catalogues as one of the finest crimson 
bedding varieties, and is sure to be sent 
with all $1 collections. I’ve found it a 
poor little red rose, the outer petals 
blighting before the buds open fully, 
and such is the experience of my neigh¬ 
bors. “Oh, yes,” they say, “Queen 
Scarlet is always full of buds and never 
dies out, but what does it amount to ? ” 
On the other hand, the Meteor comes 
right up to its glowing description which 
is as follows: “A rich, dark velvety 
crimson everblooming rose, as fine in 
color as the best perpetuals. The flow¬ 
ers are of good size, very double and 
perfect in shape, either as buds or when 
fully opened. The plant is vigorous and 
remarkably free flowering, retaining its 
color, even in the hottest weather.” It 
is, indeed, a beautiful rose, and the buds 
coming on long stems are excellent for 
bouquets or to wear, and will last sev¬ 
eral days. 
The Antoine Verdier is a bright, sil¬ 
very rose color, and a strong grower, 
blooming constantly from June until 
frost; very showy, indeed, but lacking 
the sweet perfume for which so many 
love roses. Souvenir de Wootton is 
almost as vigorous as the Antoine Ver¬ 
dier, a little darker in color, and very 
sweet-scented. Don’t fail to put it on 
your list. 
It is true that Papa Gontier belongs to 
my noble six, but for some reason, it has 
never been quite satisfactory. The buds 
are beautiful, but few and far between, 
and the plant is a very shy grower, 
llermosa is a lovely cup-shaped pink 
rose, always in bloom, and sure to do 
well anywhere, I think. The Augusta 
Victoria is another lovely Hybrid Tea I 
put out last year, and is the only sur¬ 
vivor of another collection of 12. It is a 
pale, canary-white just as lovely and 
sweet as we expect a rose to be. It also 
grows on long, stiff stems, and the 
foliage is a beautiful, dark green, while 
the buds will last several days and are 
deliciously fragrant. 
I put my faith in Hybrid Teas this 
year, and set out the La France, Mad. 
A. Veysset (Striped La France), Mad. 
Pernet Ducher, Viscountess Folkestone, 
Duchess of Albany, Triumph de Pernet 
Pere, Hippolyte Barreau and The Bride, 
which was sent marked, gratis. The 
florists praise this rose very highly in 
their catalogues, but I’ve had it before, 
and could make nothing of it. One of 
my neighbors said the other day, “ Ah, 
you have The Bride, I see ! Well, I hope 
that you will succeed with it. I’ve had 
it three or four times, and it always dies 
away.” I am hopeful for The Bride, and 
all the others are doing nicely. 
In regard to culture, the bed was dug 
out to a depth of 12 to 18 inches, and 
filled with as rich soil as we could get 
in the place, and manure water is poured 
around the plants twice a week during 
the summer. I give them plenty of 
water, and spray with kerosene emul¬ 
sion for the aphis or green fly, and put 
insect powder on the leaves to kill slugs. 
I also spray occasionally with the Eau 
Celeste mixture—the same that vine- 
yardists use for mildew. I cut the roses 
as soon as they are full blown always, 
and, of course, often cut the buds and 
cut them with good long stems. This 
keeps the plants in good shape, and in¬ 
sures a growth of new wood, and a suc¬ 
cession of buds. I have seen many fine 
rose bushes at a standstill on account of 
the roses having been allowed to wither 
and drop, the strength of the plant 
going into the seed pods instead of pro¬ 
ducing new buds. In July, the bed is 
mulched lightly with hay to keep it cool. 
Some people have gocd success in put¬ 
ting just a little straw over their roses 
for winter protection, and then turning 
a big box over the bed. Others put 
grape brush on, then straw—the brush 
prevents the straw from packing—then 
a few rails or boards to keep the straw 
in place, leaving the tops of the bushes 
sticking out. There seems to be more 
danger in giving too much protection 
than in not giving enough, as roses seem 
more liable to smother and rot out than 
to freeze out. A few more tea roses 
that have done very well in my neigh¬ 
bor’s bed, are Catharine Mermet, Bon 
Silene, Marie Van Houtte, Marie Guillot, 
Rainbow and Souvenir de la Malmaison. 
The last-named is a great fall bloomer. 
I hope that these notes may help some 
one to one of the greatest of summer’s 
charms, a bed of roses, docia dykens. 
Ottawa County, O. 
Know 
Simply a question of knowing what 
you get, or guessing at it. 
Price of Columbia bicycle certainty, 
$ioo. 
Pope Mfg. Co., Hartford, Conn. 
