2 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
A Plush Easel. 
An ordinary pine easel can be made a very orna¬ 
mental piece of furniture, for parlor, or library, by 
covering it with plush, which may be done as fol¬ 
lows : Cut three strips of whatever colored plush 
maybe desired, broad enough to wrap smoothly 
around each 6tick, and long enough to cover from 
the bottom up to the hinge. Draw the plush 
smoothly around the stick, so that the joining shall 
be at the back, and tack neatly with gimp tacks. 
Cover each one in the same way, leaving the point¬ 
ed top bare. A long plain piece, the full width of 
the material, is then lined with silk of some con¬ 
trasting color, and trimmed at either end with 
chenille fringe. This piece is to be draped grace¬ 
fully over the pointed top of the easel, which has 
been left uncovered, one end falling over the side, 
the other brought down, and carelessly laid over 
the cross piece (as represented in the cut), which 
has also been covered with plush in the same man- 
A PLUSH EASEL AND PICTURE. 
ner in which the sticks have been done. As the 
pins which hold the picture cannot be neatly cover¬ 
ed with the material, they may be gilded either by 
using the liquid gold paint, or gold leaf. The lat¬ 
ter is more durable, but the gold paint less trouble¬ 
some. The holes in the easel are, of course, all 
covered, but can readily be felt by pressing the 
finger on the plush. Rest the cross piece upon 
them, and place the drapery as described. With a 
handsome picture resting upon it, this easel will 
be found an ornamental piece of furniture, and 
r.ot at all difficult to make. 
Olcl Stocking Legs. 
The child playing near me as I write, this winter 
morning, has on a soft flannel undersuit made of 
old flannel (worn but not hardened by use), pieced 
out by soft merino stocking legs that extend above 
the knee, and by pieces of his own old stocking 
legs for wrists. Another boy is just preparing him¬ 
self to start out in the deep snow by putting the legs 
of an old pair of men’s socks over his trousers at the 
bottom, and tucking them inside his arctics. The 
same boy has learned to prepare himself for long 
expeditions in the cold, by putting on two pairs of 
stocking legs, as described above, with old pieces 
of flannel wrapped around his feet and filled in the 
bottoms of his arctics. These, without 6hoes, are 
much warmer than the ordinary shoes and arctics 
with one pair of stockings. He carries an evening 
paper in all weathers, and when the mercury is 20° 
below zero, or even lower, he can keep his feet 
warm without difficulty. He has a pair of big 
loose mittens, made without thumbs, and with 
gauntlet-shaped wrists, so that he can easily thrust 
in his hands. These are made of thick woolen- 
coat cloth, lined with pieces of blanket, and again 
with pieces of warm old stockings. They are 
worn on a strap, and fastened to his overcoat when 
he wears them, so that his hands know just where 
to find them. B. C. 
Fancy Articles. 
Art in every form, and particularly in house dec¬ 
oration, is seemingly carrying everthing before it, 
and every month brings out richer, and more mag¬ 
nificent designs in painting and embroidery. Plush 
and velvet are favorite materials, for the ground¬ 
work, and make the richest backgrounds for the ex¬ 
quisite sprays of flowers, flying birds, or aesthetic 
figures thrown upon them. 
One handsome chair that we have seen, was of 
wicker-ware, and had luxurious cushions for the 
seat and back, of crimson silk plush, upon which 
snow-balls were embroidered in the new-raised 
work, now so fashionable. This is done by cutting 
short bits of silk or crewels and sewing them in, a 
few at a time. It is a long and rather tedious task, 
but superb when completed. The popular design 
of golden rod is done in the same manner. 
An oriental-looking scrap-bag is made of four 
Japanese pictures, joined together by red, yellow 
and blue bands, crocheted of single zephyr or Shet¬ 
land wool. A bag of any material desired—Cretonne 
or Silesia is pretty—is fitted in the bottom, and a 
gay border is put around the top, which is drawn 
up with a cord, and the whole is finished off' with 
dainty little tassels at each corner. They somewhat 
resemble Chinese lanterns, and are very 
useful. A convenient trifle for a house¬ 
keeper is a ball of twine fitted in a knit¬ 
ted case of bright-colored work—like the 
soft parlor balls used by young children— 
but with a hole at the bottom, through 
which the string passes and unwinds from 
the inside of the ball. Suspended from it 
is a small pair of scissors on a narrow satin 
ribbon—loops of the same ribbon being 
used to hang it on the wall, where it will 
always be at hand, when there is a parcel 
to be tied up. Dried grasses, leaves, and 
berries are much used in decorating fancy 
baskets, shaving-paper cases, etc., and 
gilded acorns are frequently seen. At a 
recent church sale, sprays of natural flow¬ 
ers arranged on large palm-leaf fans sold 
readily, while tasteful winter bouquets 
were shown of bitter-sweet on a back 
ground of evergreens, tied with bows of 
light ribbon. The lambrequins of Ma- 
creme lace still hold their own, but the 
tying of the knots is so hard on the hands, 
that many prefer to crochet them of fish- 
twine, which is very quickly done and ex¬ 
ceedingly pretty when lined with some bright color 
or ribbon run through the openings. Ladies’ bags 
and shopping-bags are also crocheted of the fish- 
twine, which comes much cheaper than the flax 
used for the real Macrcme lace. 
Cement. — One of the most useful cements 
for general use, is made by melting together 
two parts of common pitch and one part of pure 
(not vulcanized or manufactured) gutta percha. 
When thoroughly mixed, pour into cold water, and', 
make up into convenient sticks. There are few 
articles that this will not unite and hold, when the 
color is not objectionable, and the article is not to 
be heated. 
Boxes in the Window. 
Few who have not tried it are aware of the- 
brightness a bit of living green brings into a room. 
Flowers are well, but all can not have them, and 
some must be content with the green. Whether it. 
Fig. 1.— A WINDOW-BOX. 
be the one living room of the “pioneer,” or ar 
richly-furnished room in the “ mansion,” green 
brings cheer, and is welcome. A box at the win¬ 
dow is better than pots. It ma}^ be a handsome 
box, inlaid with costly tiles, with a zinc lining, but 
the plants will give no more pleasure than if in a. 
cheap box, put together with the materials at 
hand. All houses do not have broad window sills, 
upon which the box can be set, but if there is a 
mere ledge, the box can be at the window. If 
there are a few inches of projection upon which 
one edge of the box can sit, the rest is easy. Put 
a strong screw in the end of the box near the top 
and front; fasten a stout bit of copper wire to- 
this, and carry the other end of the wire to an¬ 
other screw in the window casing, and the box 
will stand firm. Figure 1 shows one end of a box 
thus secured; of course, the place for the upper 
screw will depend upon the kind of casing. In 
order to have a really satisfactory window box, it 
Fig. 2.— FRAME FOR WINDOW PLANTS. 
must be thought of, and made ready in season- 
Those who provide such pleasing window decora¬ 
tions, do not always make the most of them. Few 
seem to he aware of the great improvement that 
may result by the addition of a light trellis, or 
lattice work, over which vines are allowed to run. 
A low, light arch, like that shown in fig. 2, or a 
much taller one, nearly doubles the ornamental 
capabilities of a window box. Such a frame may 
be made of rattan, or equally well of straight wil¬ 
low shoots, and may bear an Ivy, or some more; 
