ISKe f^cbSies Slara! Ettitnaet urul Jpiciariul 
iome itaomjmjiiojri. 
NEW YORK, FEBRUARY, 1877. 
“A BIT O’ CHRISTMAS GREEN.” 
When preparing Christmas decorations, if ever¬ 
greens are abundant, make plenty of garland trim¬ 
ming. If not, confine your efforts to mottoes, crosses 
and wreaths, and light trimming for pictures. In 
making garlands, use strong twine or cord in prefer¬ 
ence to wire, as the latter is liable to twist. Fasten 
one end of the cord to some stationary object, and 
having' a supply of evergreens cut into small branches, 
bind them on the cord one bunch after another with 
fine twine, one firm twist being sufficient to hold them 
in place. Cedar, Juniper and Hemlock are generally 
used for this work, but Spruce, Fir and Laurel will 
not come amiss, and even Pine can be made effective 
in skillful hands. To give color, work in occasional 
clusters of bright berries, American Holly, Winter 
berries, Burning Bush, Bitter Sweet, or whatever you 
can find. Generally, the neighboring woods and 
swamps will furnish something of the kind; if they 
do not, make imitation berries by stringing three or 
four soaked peas on fine wire and dipping them in a 
varnish of red sealing-wax dissolved in spirits of wine. 
Or tufts of cotton can be fastened to wire and dipped 
into melted sealing-wax, and molded into berries with 
the fingers. Everlastings may be used, but are not 
as appropriate as berries. Above all, those unsightly 
colored tissue paper flowers sometimes used, should be 
avoided, though if nothing better can be had to re¬ 
lieve the somber evergreens, little tufts of pure white 
tissue paper cut fine as for baskets and crimped are 
admissible. Be careful to make these garlands light 
and airy, and twine them around columns and railings, 
attach them along the cornices, and if the ceilings are 
not too low festoon them from the cornices, looping 
them up in the centre of the ceiling. Lighter garlands 
of the same kind should be made for trimming the 
tops of the doors and windows and the gas fixtures. 
Mottoes made of evergreen letters are one of the 
essentials. Cut the letters of the requisite size and 
shape from strong straw board and sew or tie on small 
branches of evergreens with stout dark thread. The 
handsomest letters are of rustic text and are covered 
with Ivy, Laurel or Holly leaves, and a few bright 
berries mingled in. The beauty of all the decorations 
mentioned so far can be greatly enhanced by frosting. 
Brush lightly with liquid gum and sprinkle with glass 
dust on powdered mica, which may be obtained at a 
trifling expense. Fragments of glass might be pul¬ 
verized at home for the purpose, if especial care was 
taken to protect the eyes. For variety, crest some of 
the frosting with starch to imitate hoar frost. 
Crosses, wreaths, anchors and letters made of moss 
and everlastings divide the honors with those of frosted 
evergreens. Procure that moss which grows in large 
thin sheets on old logs, wash it through two or three 
waters and dry. With a pair cf sharp scissors cut it 
according to the required designs and fasten it to a 
pasteboard foundation by winding with dark thread- 
Cut the stems of the everlasting quite short, about 
half an inch, dip them in paste or glue and insert in 
the moss; when dry they will remain secure. 
Another charming variety of letters, crosses, etc., is 
made of gray moss crystalized. Select stiff gray moss 
of coarse open texture, dampen and sew on a paste¬ 
board foundation. Next prepare a solution of alum, 
one pound to a quart of hard water, heat gradually in 
a brass kettle until boiling hot, then allow to cool 
when it is ready for use. A little extra care must be 
taken with the crystalizing. The moss must be per¬ 
fectly dry ; hold the article over the kettle, and with a 
cap or large spoon repeatedly pour the water over the 
moss, moistening the pasteboard as little as possible. 
This process produces more frost-like crystals than 
the ordinary one of immersion. 
But the loveliest, daintiest mottoes of all are of 
pressed ferns, and are quite easily made. Sketch the 
motto on Bristol-board with a lead pencil, in any text 
you like. Choose your smallest, greenest ferns for the 
capitals, ar.d take the divisions of the fronds for the 
smaller words. Brush the back of the ferns with gum- 
arabic, lay carefully in place, and you have a “ thing 
of beauty,” which will bo a joy as long as it endures. 
A NEW AND BEAUTIFUL FLOWER. 
Several summers when travelling in the Rocky 
Mountains, wo have seen a species of Ipomcea, so 
large and rich in color, growing low and branching 
over the ground, that it attracted our attention. It 
was so beautiful and luxuriant that we have often 
wished it was cultivated in our Eastern flower gardens, 
like the Aquilegia Cserulea, also a native of the 
Rocky Mountains, it would bo sure of popular favor. 
We are glad to learn that, through Mr. Bliss, the 
seedsman, and his friends, seed collectors, seeds of it 
have been gathered, and it, is thus introduced to 
flower lovers for the first time. Its botanical name is 
Ipomcea lept.ophylla, and is thus more particularly de¬ 
scribed : One of its most striking characteristics is its 
enormous perennial root. A few years ago a root 
was sent to the East which was shaped like an 
enormous rutabaga, and would nearly fill a flour 
barrel. While the root is decidedly perennial, the 
stems are annual, two or three feet or more high, and 
branching from the very base, throwing out great 
numbers of branches, and forming a bushy mass 
about as broad as it is high. The leaves are two to 
four inches long, very narrow, and like the rest of the 
plant, perfectly smooth. The flowers, either solitary 
or two or three together on a stalk, are two to two 
and a half inches long, funnel-fonn, but less open at 
the throat than the common Ipomseas, and of a pleas¬ 
ing rose-purple color. The flowers are produced in 
the greatest profusion, a large plant having the ap- 
j pearance of an immense bouquet. The plant is found 
on the Platte and Canadian rivers, and also on the 
table lands of Colorado; as in the last named locality 
the mercury falls in winter to 20° and 30° below 
zero, there is no doubt about the hardiness of the 
plant in any part of the United States, and we deem 
it worthy to be tried in every flower garden. 
See Illustration, page 20. 
AWARD OF FRIZES FOR COOKING 
RECEIPTS. 
The cooking receipts forwarded to ns for competition were sub¬ 
mitted for careful examination to other parties than the Editor, so 
that there might be no awards to his friends or interested acquaint¬ 
ances, and the verdict seems to be unanimous, as follows : 
First prize, $25. to Mrs. W. A. Eamsauer, Lincolnton, N. C. 
Second prize, $10, to Olive E. Chapman, Penn, Mich. 
Third prize, $5, to each of following: 0. S. J. and Hortense Share. 
The following are mentioned as exceedingly valuable, and they 
will all be published this year : 
Mrs. W. O. Holmes. Leicester Junction, Vt. 
EllaS. Phelps, Eacine, Wis. 
Mrs. H. C. Early, Lynchburg, Va. 
Mrs. A. C. Ackerman. 123 Eeld avenue, Brooklyn, L. I. 
Mrs. Caroline E. Cocks, Fordham P. O., N. T. City. 
Mrs. J. H. Smyth, San Francisco, Cal. 
Mrs. J. J. Bandall, Winona, Minn. 
J. Bobertson Archer, Pt. Gibson, Miss. 
The following comments are added by the Committee: 
COMMENTS UPON MANUSCRIPTS SENT TO COMPETE FOR PRIZES. 
In reply to the offer of prizes for the twenty-five best receipts for 
cooking of all kinds, manuscripts have been received at this office 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific Slope. JSTot a State in the Union but 
has sent contributions to our list, making in all nine thousand six 
hundred and sixty-six receipts / 
Of course, in so large a number, there have been many manu¬ 
scripts that are almost identical ; and the receipts for Chicken Salad, 
Pressed Chicken. Chicken Cheese, Escalloped Oysters, Parker House 
Eolls, &c., Tomato Soup, Oyster Soup, Chow-chow, Pickles of Cu¬ 
cumbers and Tomatoes. Chocolate Cakes and Puddings. Cream 
Cakes, Snow Pudding and Queen of the Puddings. Jelly Cakes, and 
Cold and Hot Slaw, have been repeated in hundreds cf manuscripts 
with but little variations in the receipts. Of course, in such eases, 
those first received and best arranged were selected. 
But where all were so good it has not been an easy task to choose 
those which were most suitable for the prizes, and we can only say 
with the Irish Bridget—“I have done me endavor, ma’am, an’ troth 
I’m sorry if it din’na suit ye.” 
In some manuscripts the directions were not attended to, and 
several kinds of cakes or pies were given, instead of only two. In a 
few, the pages were written on both sides of the paper, thus making 
them of no use, as printers cannot use manuscripts thus written. 
In other cases the location was not given correctly, either the town 
or State being omitted. 
Taken as a whole, however, the receipts were most excellent; and 
while they show that the delicacies of the table are not confined to 
any State, they also declare that our Southern and Western sisters 
excel the Eastern, in some branches of cookery. 
An ancient poet of the Elizabethan age wrote: 
“The surest road to peoples’ hearts, I find. 
Lies through the mouth, or I mistake mankind.” 
And the maxim holds as true in this 19th century. 
Good cooks also make good tempers, for we must allow that the 
temper of mankind depends greatly upon the state of the digestive 
organs ; and if greasy, leathery, unattractive food is substituted for 
that which is wholesome and toothsome, we cannot grow either in 
Christian graces or beauty, without a terrible struggle of both mind 
and body. 
The prizes were awarded because they were each excellent as col¬ 
lections, were well arranged, and principally because they contained 
the most and best of new recipes. 
A WORD ABOUT ADVERTISEMENTS. 
We never mean to take any advertisements from any parties but, 
from the best knowledge and inquiries we can make, seem reliable 
and will do just as is promised. So far as we know, no swindle or 
patent medicine has found its way into our columns, and never, 
knowingly, do we permit anything hut is of respectable character. 
An advertisement of the Ohio & Kentucky & Texas Land Com¬ 
pany was sent us by-a reliable agent, who assured us that the matter 
was all right, and that every word said by the advertiser could be 
depended upon. We had dealt with this agent for years, and found 
him and his opinions reliable in the highest degree. We therefore 
inserted it. Some who patronize it, call us to task, for our responsi¬ 
bility in the matter. We can only soy that we took usual care, and 
asked every one who knew the parties, and they told us that it was 
a good enterprise. It may or may not he a swindle. No one seems 
to have positive information, and we have no means of judging. 
We can only say from complaints received, do not trust that company 
any more. _ 
A Costly Number. —This number is a costly one. Upon the 
opposite page is a perfect copy by electrotype of a splendid steel 
plate engraving which cost over $500; upon the fourteenth page is 
the $25 collection of new recipes. Add to this the new music, and 
the other prize floral and household articles which we publish, and 
the reader has for the small sum of 11 or 12 cents a value of over $541. 
New Floral Premium. —The beautiful flower, Ipomcea lep- 
tophylla. which we illustrate this month, we have made arrangements 
to give as premium free to any one who being now a subscriber will 
send us before Maj- 1st one more yearly subscriber, or two six 
months’ subscribers. It is new, never yet introduced. Its flowers 
are very large and brilliant. It is worth having. Bemember, only 
one new subscription is necessary to secure it free. 
Astonishing Premiums of Elower and Garden Seeds. 
—The splendid offer of flower seeds, which we. male - upon our first 
page of cover, are open only to the 1st of June, and must in all cases 
be accompanied with the certificates which are printed on the paper. 
No order can be filled without the certificate. These offers are made 
both to encourage our readers to get flower seeds and work for the 
interest of the Floral Cabinet in extending its good name and 
fame, and circulation. 
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