324 
Jhr RURAL NEW-YORKER 
House Adornment. — I wish to make 
a plea for more vines and flowers around 
the home. Bulbs, seeds and plants are 
offered so cheaply by seedsmen and nur¬ 
serymen. and yet how noticeable is the 
barrenness of many houses. So much 
may be done with vines it seems a pity 
that so many dwellings are without them. 
Almost any plain old house can be con¬ 
verted into a feast for the eye by a lib¬ 
eral use of vines. If there are no porches 
a light framework over the door covered 
with vines greatly improves the appear¬ 
ance of the building, besides furnishing a 
shady place in which to sit on warm days. 
Where there are unsightly objects, old 
buildings, fences, walls, stones, etc., they 
may all be hidden under a mass of green 
and bloom with very little expenditure of 
time or money. 
Favorite Vines. — There are many 
tried and time varieties. Of the flowering 
vines the Clematis is a favorite. Climb¬ 
ing roses when well grown are beautiful, 
but to many people they are less satis¬ 
factory than other climbers because of the 
care they require to keep them in a 
healthy condition. Then there are the 
wild honeysuckle, wild cucumber, Jap- 
enese hop, cinnamon and Madeira vines, 
which are all good. Even the morning- 
glory. climbing nasturtium and sweet pea. 
can be used, but to my mind the Virginia 
creeper is the most satisfactory vine for 
busy people. It thrives in almost any 
situation, grows equally well on north 
and south of the building, needs but little 
attention when once established, and gives 
the benefit of its shade and beauty from 
early Summer until the last maple has 
dropped its leaves. 
Succession of Flowers.— I have used 
the double variety of hollyhocks, which are 
beautiful in early Summer, and when they 
begin to fade the sweet peas are ready to 
bloom. Being in a sheltered situation, the 
sweet peas continue in bloom long after 
the first frosts. Sunflowers and climbing 
nasturtiums have been planted together, 
after the same plan, the sunflowers giv¬ 
ing the necessary support to the vines. 
Everyone should plant some hardy shrubs 
or plants. Personally I am partial to 
the old-fashioned sorts. What is more 
beautiful than the syringa. with its fra¬ 
grant waxy blossoms, or a clump of hardy 
Phlox, peonies or bleeding hearts? All of 
these, except the Phlox, blossom in the 
Spring. For midsummer and Autumn 
there are roses, golden glow, larkspur, the 
hardy Hydrangea and many others to se¬ 
lect from. Let us not forget the lily-of- 
the-valley, to plant in out-of-the-way 
nooks, shady spots and neglected corners. 
They are excellent for cut flowers and a 
continual joy during the blooming season. 
PANSIES. —If you cannot have a bed of 
annuals you can at least have a bed of 
pansies. If you have never tried them 
purchase a package of mixed seed from 
any seed house. Sow in a shallow box 
filled with good garden soil about the last 
of March. Place, the box in a sunny win¬ 
dow and cover with glass or paper. Keep 
the soil moist. When all danger of frost 
is over and the soil is in good condition 
set the young plants out in the open 
ground about one foot apart each way. 
In a .short time buds will appear. Flor¬ 
ists say that pansies require a shady sit¬ 
uation. but in my yard I grow them where 
they get the sun all day, and the bed is a 
mass of bloom from the last of June till 
cold, freezing weather. After the first 
snowfall the bed is given a light covering 
of leaves or straw. In the Spring this 
covering is removed and some fertilizer is 
applied between the plants, being lightly 
raked into the soil. Xo more cultivation 
is given until the seedlings from seeds 
dropped in the Fall are old enough to re¬ 
set. These may be removed to a new bed 
or left in the same bed. the old plants 
being pulled out when the young ones are 
ready to bloom. 
Dahlias. —Dahlias and Chrysanthe¬ 
mums are two of our most beautiful flow¬ 
ers, and both are easily grown from seed. 
My yard has not been without them for 
years. The Dahlia is a rather tender 
plant as regards cold, hence the seed 
should be planted in a 'box or frame, so 
the young plants may be covered for cool 
nights. The slightest touch of frost will 
kill them. They are delicate at first, but 
when they once get a good start and the 
roots begin to feed widely and deeply in 
the soil they become very hardy and grow 
rapidly. When the Dahlia seedling is 
about six inches high lift it with a mass 
af soil containing all of its roots and set 
rather deeply in a previously prepared 
bed. The soil in which it is to grow per¬ 
manently should be spaded at least two 
:eet deep, and should have mixed with it 
a large proportion of well-rotted stable 
and poultry droppings. The location of 
the bed should be in moist but well- 
drained soil. Choose a place where sur¬ 
face water from Summer rains will flow 
but will not stand for any great length of 
time. For a large growth of Dahlias 
plenty of moisture and fertility in the 
soil are essential. If the soil in which 
they grow is moist and rich enough 
Dahlias started from seed early in the 
Spring will make plants two to three feet 
high by August, when they begin to bloom. 
The blossoms may be of all kinds—single, 
double, quilled and of all colors. By the 
end of the growing season good-sized 
tubers will have been formed, and can be 
dug and stored for next season. The 
tuber will perpetuate its kind, always 
true to variety. 
Seedling Chrysanthemums. —In my 
experience the growing of Chrysanthe¬ 
mums from seed is more interesting than 
the growing of Dahlias. The plants will 
not blossom until late in the Fall or early 
Winter, until the other flowers are gone 
and when blooms are much appreciated. 
Chrysanthemum seeds may be planted any 
time in early Spring in flats in the home, 
or outside, according to the weather. The 
plants, young and old. are hardy, and will 
stand much cold without injury, although 
it is well to cover them on very cold 
nights. When Chrysanthemum seedlings 
have produced second or third rough 
leaves transplant to small flower pots or 
berry boxes, using rich garden loam for 
potting soil. Leave them in these pots or 
boxes until early June. They will de¬ 
mand less care if the pots are set close 
together in a light frame, with fine soil 
to retain moisture. The base of the pots 
should rest on the bare ground, and only 
enough top moisture supplied to keep the 
plants growing moderately. When real 
settled Summer weather comes and the 
garden soil is thoroughly warmed trans¬ 
plant the seedlings in rows in the garden 
and cultivate like ordinary vegetables. If 
berry boxes were used for first transplant¬ 
ing set box and all in soil. Where pots 
are used knock out the ball of earth and 
set in garden without disturbing the mass 
of roots. During the Summer keep the 
side shoots pinched off to induce growth 
of a single stem. During the last week 
of August carefully lift the plants and 
transplant them where they are to re¬ 
main permanently, being sure that good 
drainage is provided. At tire time of 
transplanting pinch out the center of the 
plant to induce lateral branching near the 
top. MRS. M. E. UNDERWOOD. 
Notes About Winter Amusements 
As children so soon become tired of 
anything which they can do it is neces¬ 
sary to have a variety of things for them, 
but almost every child likes to cut paper. 
For the small girl I made a scrapbook 
of common flour sack by opening the 
seam, cutting off the bottom, and folding 
a half sack (24 1 4 lbs) so that it made 
four leaves each leaf representing a 
room. This rvas her '-‘bungalow” and a 
catalog was the deparftnerrt store from 
which she was to furnish it. The four 
rooms were large and were parlor, living- 
room, bedroom and kitchen ; by showing 
a very little she cut the furniture pic¬ 
tures from the catalog and pasted them 
in the rooms. As the bedroom was very 
large she put in screens and had a bath¬ 
room in one corner, a clothes closet in 
another and a hall from the living room. 
When her own bungalow' was furnished 
several little friends had to have one too. 
and at last at my suggestions she moved 
them all in one place and had a village. 
Of course they were make-believe little 
friends, as it was too stormy for the 
real ones. 
The little boys, given the books, quickly 
had farms, poultry-houses, stores of var¬ 
ious kinds, all of which were supplied 
with equipment from old catalogs. It 
is surprising how absorbed they will be¬ 
come, and how long they will remain 
quiet, not to speak of the knowledge in 
methodical ways which they gain. For 
the little girl who likes to sew or make 
doll clothes, give her papers of various 
colors (wrapping paper) and cut some 
paper dolls, quite large ones. Give her 
an old fashion or clothing catalog, a dish 
of paste and scissors, and show her how 
to cut dresses from the papers and trim 
them like those in the fashion plates. You 
will be surprised at the results. Both 
men and women can be dressed. When 
these grow too tiresome make other books 
of the same material and let them cut 
out pictures and make* regular picture 
books. The advantage of all this work 
is that it not only furnishes employment, 
but teaches them also, as they good learn 
the letters, figures, etc., and when no 
longer presentable can be burned. 
Paper beads, cut work and dozens of 
other things will suggest themselves; once 
they get started I will guarantee the in¬ 
terest. A child six years old may be 
given a bone crochet hook and some 
wrapping twine and be taught the simple 
crochet stitch and crochet a long chain, 
which will make the very best of string 
mops, dish mops, etc. If the scrap 
books are nicely made they make accept¬ 
able presents for orphanages and other 
children’s homes. They should be taught 
neatness in construction, cutting out, etc. 
v Give them a large cloth or towel wrung 
out of water on which to wipe pasty fin¬ 
gers, to clean off spots from floor or 
table, or a surplus of paste on the pages. 
I have never given beads, buttons, beans 
or any such articles to small children 
for fear of choking. Both boys and girls 
soon learn to braid rug rags very nicely, 
and besides being a help it furnishes var¬ 
iety too. Sorting the different colors of 
carpet rags to be sewn is another good 
and helpful amusement. If the nervous 
baby is large or old enough to hold a 
small ball give her two small balls of 
clean white carpet rags and show her 
how to wind one ball onto the other. The 
rhythmic motions will soon quiet her, and 
she will not notice the noise of the others 
so much, as they will also be quieter. 
But I never give whistles, horns, bells 
or any other noisy toy to a child when 
he'is indoors. Those toys are for out¬ 
door amusements. 
February 26, 1021 
For the correspondent who says she 
has a large room without furnishings, 
which the children can have for a play¬ 
house, the first thing towards furnishing 
amusement for them should be a black¬ 
board large enough to allow all the little 
people to mark on it at once if they wish. 
Hang it low enough to be easily reached 
from the floor, and across the top paste 
a row of animals, pictures cut from any¬ 
thing, if they are good form, and encour¬ 
age the little ones to copy as nearly as 
possible. T'nderneath the animal paste 
the name word, also write it and tell the 
little ones what the word is. They will 
soon learn to associate the looks of the 
word with the form of the animal, and 
learn to copy both. For variety let the 
children copy the form of the animal by 
laying the picture on a piece of cardboard 
and drawing around it, then its outline 
can be pricked with a large needle and 
at some other time can be sewn with col¬ 
ored thread. For the cards I used the 
covers of tablets, soda boxes, match 
boxes and any thin board that can be 
easily pierced. For the puncturing in¬ 
strument an awl or a button hook with 
the hook bent straight and sharpened, a 
large darning needle stuck through a 
cork and the point slightly blunted is 
ideal. For thread I saved the colored 
wrapping cords and untwisted the 
strands. All of this I did in a large 
school of small pupils years ago when the 
trustees would not provide material for 
such foolishness.” The idea of spending 
good money for such foolishness! To 
vary the blackboard work, use geometrical 
figures, circles, squares, triangles, etc. 
Let them draw the figures on cards and 
cut them out, learning to name each 
shape. Other furniture for the room 
should be a large table on which to draw, 
chairs high enough to reach the table 
easily and stools and cushions for low 
work, tending dolly, etc. Let mother 
visit there as often as possible and take 
her sitting work there on every possible 
occasion. Later paper lanterns, houses, 
furniture, etc., may be learned. I have 
diagrams of many (paper articles for 
children and many more amusements will 
suggest themselves as to how to cut 
cardboard animals and have them stand 
up, cardboard doll-houses and furniture, 
etc These homemade articles teach 
thrift by using inexpensive materials 
which would otherwise be thrown away 
as useless, and also teaches inventiveness 
and when soiled or damaged or outgrown 
can be thrown into the fire without a 
single qualm of conscience. Jessie. 
A Helping Hand from the Cotton Belt 
Beading what Lily Reed York did, on 
page 118, made me think of how we cot¬ 
ton planters have to skimp and plan and 
patch. 1 he Deacon thought mavbe he 
could make out for clothes until Fall • 
then he would get a supply. He had a 
dress suit picked out that “just fit ” I 
begged him to wait and see what the cotton 
would do. He sure is glad he did. for it 
has done nothing. I got up all his clothes 
patched, put on buttons, fixed the lin¬ 
ings, and fixed him up. He found one 
suit too small for him, but it just fitted 
a neighbor with eight or nine little chil¬ 
dren to shoe and clothe, his cotton as low 
in price as the Deacon’s, so he gave him 
the suit. Another pair of trousers I 
fixed the buttons and a rip or two; he 
gave them to a tenant. The man said • 
“It’s in answer to prayer; I have prayed 
a week for a pair of pants.” Four pairs 
of trousers were past mending; I ripped 
them up. turned the wrong side out: afte- 
washing and pressing, made three cloaks 
and one petticoat for a child, trimmed 
with some scraps I had, and sent to the 
Polish Relief. I took two flannel shirts 
and made two warm little underskirts • 
one was a little short; I put a frill of out¬ 
ing flannel on the bottom of the skirt. 
The other I had to piece, but did it in 
such a way it added to the looks. I 
trimmed it with dress binding that used 
to be used so much years ago. 
I took all the scraps from the pants 
and added to some I had, made a quilt 
and lined with a canton flannel blanket. 
I hunted up all the woollen dress goods 
and made a cradle quilt. I have made 
three outfits for a baby and have them 
all ready to send to the Polish Relief. I 
have sent three big packages and have 
another ready to send. One mill gave 
me 100 yards of dress goods; another 
gave oOO yards. In this last package I 
am sending I have more than 20 garments 
I have made. I just sent the cloth as it 
came from the mills. 
Won’t every reader of The R. X.-Y. 
make at least one garment and send? 
What a godsend it would be ! How the 
poor freezing children would thank you ! 
Send to either Franklin K. Lane, treas¬ 
urer, 42 Broadway, Xew York City, or to 
Mi ss Daisy Davis. Polish Relief, Newport 
News, Va. Send to either one; they will 
be forwarded. home maker. 
Tenderfoot : “A donkey was tied to 
a rope G feet long, and 18 feet away there 
was a bundle of hay. and the donkey 
wanted to get at the hay. How did he 
manage to?” First-class Scout: “He 
gave up.” Tenderfoot: “Oh, no. He 
just walked up to the hay and ate it.” 
First-class Scout: “But you said it was 
tied to a rope 6 feet long.” Tenderfoot: 
“So it was. • But. you see, the rope wasn’t 
tied to anything.”—Credit Lost. 
A little kindergarten boy was at¬ 
tempting to tell the rest of his class what 
a caterpillar was like. He said: “He’s 
long and slim. He’s just like a muff out 
walking.”—Everybody’s. 
