162 
frames 
ompmion. 
FLORAL ELEGANCIES. 
I have^just finished a rustic stand which I think 
some one may like to hear about. In the first place, 
I had a standard two feet high—a piece of scantling 
will answer—with a round board one foot square fast¬ 
ened on the bottom. If you have a big brother get 
him to make it for you. I don’t happen to have one, 
so I have to do it myself. Next I got a dry-goods 
box a little over two feet long, one foot wide, and one 
foot deep, which I nailed on the upright. Then I 
had a quantity of laurel roots, which grow in great 
abundance here, soaked in warm water, and a part of 
the rough bark scraped off, which left them spotted 
and striped, and when varnished they are a very rich 
color. I then nailed them on with small nails all 
over the box and standard, according to my fancy, un¬ 
til the whole was completely covered; then I gave it 
a good coat of varnish, and after drying, it was ready 
for use. 
Now for contents : after boring half a dozen holes 
in the box for drainage, I put a layer of gravel in and 
filled up with rich earth. I sunk my pots with the 
flowers in them and filled up the spaces with Ferns, 
Ivies, and other vines. I need not mention the 
plants put in, as anyone can choose for themselves. 
I think a bright red Coleus ana a Tew variegated 
leaved plants look handsome, especially if you do not 
have many blossoms. I neglected to say that the box 
should be stained with some dark stain, which you 
can get at any furnisher’s store. 
I wish you could see my stand. 1 think it a beauty, 
and my friends all admire it very much, which quite 
repays me for the time spent on it. In fact, I do not 
think the time spent on such things lost by any means, 
though there are some people always throwing cold 
water on every little attempt of the kind, but I think 
we should feel sorry for them that their minds and 
hearts cannot or will not see the beautiful things 
which if it were not good for us to have would not be 
given to us. 
In one of my rambles this fall, I found a great many 
lichens, some kinds of which I had never seen before. 
They were almost all colors, some a most beautiful 
brown, others stone-color, some almost white, and 
some a lovely red or maroon, all of them in a great 
variety of shades. I made quite a pretty cross of 
them in this way : 
I first cut a cross out of stiff cardboard, then ar¬ 
ranged the lichens on it and sewed them fast; care 
should be taken to have the colors blend and the effect 
will be something quite pretty. I also gathered a 
quantity of autumn leaves and ferns to decorate the 
house with for winter In my judgment there is noth¬ 
ing makes a room have a cheery home-look so much 
as to see bright-colored leaves and flowers here and 
there. I would not have too many of the leaves ; the 
common English Ivy, which is hardy, and which you 
can easily root in water and keep there all winter, 
looks very handsome mixed in with the leaves, and 
makes a fine contrast. 
Beside several smaller ones, I had quite a large 
one in a pot which stands at the comer of a window 
and reaches up on one side to the top. I have trained 
another branch of it over on a picture, and still an¬ 
other below the picture around a bracket, the whole 
vine being about twelve feet long, with five branches. 
I wonder if any of the readers of the Cabinet 
know how to make rugs of old rags. If you have 
woolen rags, which are the best, select pieces of the 
same thickness and cut them one-fourth of an inch 
wide, sew so as to have them as smooth as possible ; 
take large wooden knitting needles and knit it garter 
stitch a foot wide and two feet long, then knit another 
strip, of a different color, four inches wide and long 
enough to reach all around the other; you can put any 
kind of fringe you choose around the whole, and you 
will have, if not a very handsome, a good rug without 
any expense, which is quite an item. 
I read in the Cabinet some time ago about mak¬ 
ing pictures by taking bright-colored autumn leaves 
and ferns and fastening them on drawing paper. I 
thought I would make some, and set about studying 
out a way to frame them so as not to cost much. I 
went to a cigar shop and asked for cigar-lighters— 
you can get a bunch with several hundred in for a 
dime; they are made of white wood and very thin. I 
selected even ones and notched the ends ; mine were 
about five inches long, so I had to fasten two together 
for the length of the frame and the same way for the 
width, only I cut a little off from each end, as I wanted 
the frame longer than it was wide. Take three for 
each side and the same for the ends, weave them in 
at the comers; then take some more lighters, cut 
them a little shorter, and make a star by crossing 
them; notch their ends, put a star over each side 
and end where they are pieced; you can substitute a 
small bow of ribbon for the star if you choose; 
the frame is very delicate and suits the picture nicely. 
A picture made and framed in this way would be 
pretty gift fo- a sick friend. Gertrude D. 
FLORAL NOTES. 
A large proportion of our lady readers can scarcely 
imagine the delicate beauty of the newer kinds of Li¬ 
lacs. The day of old-fashioned Lilacs is gone, and 
now so many splendid new sorts have been originated 
that everyone who has a garden should get one or 
more of them. We have seen some of the blossoms, 
especially the Rothomagensis Kubra, which were over 
eighteen inches long. Think of that! a single bunch 
a bouquet of itself, and graceful in the most exquisite 
degree. Mr. Geo. Ellwanger, of Rochester, N. Y , has 
recently written a short and valuable report of the 
value of these new sorts, which we publish entire : 
In all large continental cities, and particularly in 
Paris, the Lilac is in great request for winter flower¬ 
ing. The common purple is generally used for forcing, 
and when kept in houses, darkened by mats or other¬ 
wise, produces pure white flowers. In order to pro¬ 
duce the best results, the plants should be carefully 
selected in the spring, and planted in pots; then 
plunged in the ground during the summer, and kept 
well watered. In September they should be repotted 
into rich compost, and, in succession according as re¬ 
quired, be placed in an atmosphere of sixty to seventy 
degrees Fahrenheit, which should gradually be in¬ 
creased to eighty degrees-, and even as high as one 
hundred degrees. The roots should be well supplied 
with water, and the plants should receive frequent 
syringings with tepid water. They may also be taken 
up carefully with balls in the fall, to be forced the fol¬ 
lowing winter, but we recommend the former method. 
When no forcing house is accessible, a warm room 
answers very well in its stead. 
In winter, with the Rose-bud and Yiolet, it is 
the most fashionable flower in Europe, especially in 
Franee. For a winter plant, it keeps in bloom a 
long time, and has no superior. As a florist’s flower 
in winter, it is in great demand. The Persian varie¬ 
ties are also used for forcing, the flowers of which are 
more delicate than the common purple. Through 
hybridization many valuable varieties have been added 
to the Lilac group, of late years, both in this country 
and in Europe. 
'In the following list we desire to introduce and 
make known some of the best and most striking 
varieties, consisting of all colors and shades from the 
darkest red to the purest white: 
Persica, a native of Persia, of dwarf growth, four 
feet to six feet high, with small foliage and bright pur¬ 
ple flowers. 
Persica Alba, of somewhat less vigorous growth 
than the above, with delicate white flowers shaded 
with purple. 
Flore Pleno, double purple, resembling in color 
the common purple, but has a double row of petals. 
It is much admired, being the only double variety. 
Grandiflora, a very vigorous growing variety, with 
panicles of bright purple flowers of unusual size. 
Yirginalis, a most charming variety with large 
panicles of pure white flowers, and dark green foli¬ 
age. 
Emodi, a native of the Himalayas, very large and 
fine, delicate purplish Lilac flowers in erect, dense 
panicles; a very free bloomer. 
Sinensis, a species resembling the Persian, but of 
more vigorous growth. Flowers of reddish purple, a 
most prolific bloomer, in fact the whole bush is a mass 
of flowers. 
Josikoea, a very distinct species with shining leaves; 
and purple flowers blossoming from two to three 
weeks after all the other varieties of Lilacs, and when 
very few other shrubs or trees are in bloom. 
Duchesse de Nemours, flowers light purple, distinct 
and fine. 
Nana, a very distinct dwarf variety, with large and 
compact spikes of dark reddish purple flowers. 
Speciosa, one of the most flourishing new varieties, 
with very strong spikes of bright reddish flowers. 
Gloire de Moulins, panicles very large, of very fine 
rosy Lilac color—a superb variety. 
Rothomagensis Rubra, this is one of the most 
showy varieties, flowers reddish, panicles of great size, 
often measui ing eighteen inches in length and very 
abundant—planted in clumps on lawns no shrub will 
give such grand effect when in flower, even the Rho¬ 
dodendron cannot vie with it. 
The last is much the finest of the entire collection, 
and is sold at $1 to $2. 
THE NIGHT-BLOOMING CEREUS. 
In a late number of the Floral Cabinet, I read 
a communication from “ Beulah,” in which she ap¬ 
plauds the beauty and fairy-like appearance of the 
flowers of this mysterious plant. Her description is 
extremely good, yet I think could she see mine, there 
would be still something more for her to admire. 
My Cereus stands in a case two and a half feet 
square by two feet high; there is a frame attached to 
the case six feet high, making in all eight feet; with¬ 
in the square of the frame at the top, there are now 
fifteen buds, and I shall be compelled to build an am¬ 
phitheatre around it, so that my friends can see the 
flowers. Previous to the past two years, my Cereus 
bloomed in June; one year the first bloom was the 
seventh, and the last the fifteenth; last year the first 
flower opened on the fourth of July evening, and the 
last on the twenty-fifth. As the plant grows older, 
the time seems to extend for its blooming. From what 
I can learn, my Cereus is about twenty years old. 
Mrs. R. A. 
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