292 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[June, 
Summer Awnings for Doors and Windows. 
It is very desirable to have some kind of protec¬ 
tion over doors or windows which are exposed to 
tlie glare of the sun in summer. In a new place 
the trees are seldom large enough to afford much 
AN AWNING FOB A DOORWAY. 
shade, while a “ porch ” is often a thing of the fu¬ 
ture. An elaborate awning with patent iron frame, 
etc., to be lowered and raised at pleasure, differs 
very materially in cost from the one here repre¬ 
sented. The latter can easily be made at home; it 
has only a stationary wooden frame, it is true, but 
it answers the purpose just as well as a more ex¬ 
pensive and pretentious affair. A square frame is 
made of strips of wood, and fastened firmly to the 
side of the house, a little above the door or -win¬ 
dow, with another wooden strip reaching from the 
house to each of the front corners of the frame, to 
hold it in place. The awning is wide-stripe bed¬ 
ticking (or regular awning cloth if preferred), the 
top and front all in one. This requires two or 
more widths of material, and the side pieces are cut 
to fit, and sewed on. The lower edge is scolloped 
out all round, and bound with bright-colored braid, 
and the whole is tacked closely and firmly to the 
frame. This awning is durable as well as orna¬ 
mental, and need not be taken down all summer. 
Mrs. Busyhand. 
--c-o-- 
Hints for House Furnishing. 
Yellow is the fashionable color this season ; it 
appears in all shades, from the faintest cream tint, 
to a deep orange or flame color. 
Buff or ecru holland shades have greatly taken 
the place of the red ones so long used. These are 
frequently embroidered in small inconspicuous 
patterns and edged with fringe or an open lace. 
For this purpose the antique laces are particularly 
suitable. Curtains are made of some light fabric, 
with insertions and edgings of the antique lace, 
or Madras muslin with colored figures. Lace 
curtains, too, in small, quaint designs are once 
more seen at the windows of handsome houses, 
and they are always dressy and pretty. 
The new Mousque carpets have a yellow thread 
thrown on the surface, thus forming a golden film, 
mixing with the colors. Many parlor carpets are 
shown in floral designs, while those for libraries 
and halls are in straight geometrical figures. Some 
of the mattings are extremely neat, many of them 
being woven to resemble ingrain carpets. 
A very pretty table-cloth for a sitting-room is 
made of strong white linen, covered with a strag¬ 
gling sort of vine. The stems and leaves are 
worked in olive and brown crewels, and the flowers 
in Kensington stitch, in red, blue, and yellow. The 
border is made of dull red satine. These white 
cloths are particularly good beneath a lamp, as 
they reflect the light, and help to make the room 
brighter and more cheerful. 
In working table covers on cloth or felt, the fancy 
of the moment is to have each corner different. 
For rich embroidery, combinations of pink and 
olive are considered desirable, and an ugly, straight- 
backed rocking-chair may be transformed into a 
“ thing of beauty,” by covering with olive plush, or 
other heavy material, on which wild roses and 
foliage are embroidered in silks. 
-*»*■- 
How to Make a Plaque. 
The sociable king-fishers may be painted upon a 
plaque of white wood, or terra-cotta, either of 
which is very inexpensive. If it is to be executed 
in oil colors, draw the design carefully with a pen¬ 
cil. Make the stems and twigs, Vandyke brown 
and white; and the grasses and leaves, Zinober 
green, Nos. 2 and 3. Paint the rocks in neutral 
tint, shaded with sepia, and the flowers at the right 
in rose madder and crimson lake, to give a touch of 
bright color. For water, use cobalt, white, Vandyke 
brown and Zinober green No. 3. Paint the birds 
in Vandyke brown with mixed white and gray 
breasts, and yellow bills. Let the one bird’s foot 
visible be brown and white, strongly articulated 
with brown. When completed, it would be beauti¬ 
ful framed in a rich crimson plush frame. Wooden 
panels would probably be best for frames with 
branches and blossoms. Some people have a fancy 
for painting apple-blossoms upon apple-wood and 
cherry-blossoms upon cherry-wood. For oil colors, 
oil the panel first with linseed or poppy oil, and 
when dry, paint directly upon the wood. After the 
painting is completed, varnish with French re¬ 
touching varnish. If desired, the ground-work 
may be of gold or sky-blue, adding gray at the 
base, or making the blue deeper. The blossoms 
should be a delicate rose tint, shaded with a mix¬ 
ture of gray, chrome green, and carmine, using pure 
carmine on the birds, and tips of some of the flower 
petals. Paint the young leaves, calyxes, and stems 
in light green, flat, outlined with Vandyke brown, 
in which the boughs and tree should be also paint- 
ed, the light being put in, in white. 
Willie’s Summer Wardrobe. 
Willie is three years old. He lives with his 
parents on a farm, and his mother is inexperienced 
in the care of children. The wisest persons 
differ as to the wisdom of keeping flannel next 
the skin all the year round. For children of 
low vitality, i. e., easily depressed by disturbing 
causes, quickly chilled, flannel is safer than cotton, 
unless it is irritating to the skin. In that case it 
may be worn over very thin cotton garments. Ro¬ 
bust, active children are usually more comfortable 
in cotton undergarments in hot weather. Many 
mothers, supposing that some superior virtue re¬ 
sides in wool, keep flannel shirts on their children 
all summer, while the lower limbs are left almost, 
if not quite, bare, even in cool weather. This is 
unreasonable, as the body should be equally 
clothed, and the legs and feet kept warm. 
I have seen children so loaded with clothing in 
warm weather, that they could find no pleasure in 
exercise, and lounged about, enduring the burden 
of clothes as best they could, while others more 
lightly clad gamboled around, keeping the blood 
in good circulation. There are so many sudden 
changes in the weather, that it is unreasonable to 
have no gradations of clothing suitable to all sea¬ 
sons ; to keep on the thick winter garments until 
they become quite burdensome, and then change 
suddenly and decidedly to light summer garments, 
to be worn without change until fall. A light un¬ 
der-suit is well for spring and fall, with long 
sleeves, and legs of ample length. It may be a 
loose waist and drawers, buttoned together, or a 
“gauze” shirt and drawers, which can be purchased 
ready-made. Gauze flannel may he used, or warm 
unbleached cotton cloth. This medium suit can be 
put on during cool rainy spells in summer. Young 
children, both boys and girls, now have their 
under-clothing made as waists and drawers, usually 
in two parts, buttoning together at the waist. 
These should be loose and comfortable for summer 
(the hot weather suits), with short sleeves and 
rather low necks. Two such waists will do for a 
growing child, but there is no harm in more gar- 
A NEAT DESIGN FOR A PLAQUE. 
