Christmas Garlands Gathered in the Fall 
THE BEAUTY THAT AUTUMN WOODS AND FIELDS PROVIDE FOR HOLIDAY DECORATION— 
WHAT TO GATHER NOW AND HOW TO KEEP IT BRIGHT FOR CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION 
B Y M A R T H A M C Cu LLOCH - Wl L LI A M S 
B Y mid-October, at the latest, begin 
looking forward to Christmas deco¬ 
rations. Then all the wealth of road 
and hedgeside is at the fullest; ferns also 
have reached their best development; wild 
roses, dogwood, mountain ash, the straw¬ 
berry bush, bitter-sweet and partridge 
vine show jewelwise amid the thinning 
leafage; then, too, milkweed pods are 
ready to burst into silken fluff, and the 
wild clematis, known variously as Travel¬ 
er’s Joy or Virgin’s Bower, has changed 
its milky constellations into other constel¬ 
lations of fringy green seed. Each and 
several these have potentialities of house¬ 
hold beauty attainable with a trifle of fore- 
thoughted care. 
Gather all these late upon a warm, dry 
afternoon—never in morning damps, nor 
sharp wind, nor, above all, when it is wet. 
If a light frost or two has nipped tender 
greenery, these other things will be but 
the better—riper, yet less sappy. Cut 
branches of berried things, instead of 
breaking them. Use a sharp knife, and 
make slanting cuts. Beware avarice! 
Take only the best branches, and those but 
sparingly. Keep each sort to itself, laying 
them without crowding in something flat 
—a wheelbarrow or shallow basket, or, 
lacking other things a square cloth, the TKe mi , k . w „ d ds 
corners tied over a light pole, and held out tung fce>d down . will „. y 
at the bottom with strips of lath. Unless 
frost is imminent, gather one thing at a time. Take home 
branches quickly, cull and trim, then stand them in earthen crocks 
with six inches of water in the bottom and lumps of fresh char¬ 
coal to keep it untainted, else thrust the cut ends, four inches deep, 
into clean, wet sand—which must be kept wet constantly. Set 
crocks or sand boxes in a light, airy place, away from frost or 
artificial heat. Once a fortnight trim a quarter inch from the 
cut ends; removing water-logged pores thus keeps the branches 
fresh. The small ruby-red rose hips should be cut with their 
parent stems as close to the ground as possible. From the tall- 
running roses take only the flower stalks laden with big scarlet 
or yellow-red urn-shaped fruit. 'A cellar that is clean, light and 
well ventilated keeps all such things well, provided there is no 
heat. 
Trails of bitter-sweet, cut low, the ends stuck in sand or water, 
and set high, with vines trailing in clean, cold air, scarcely shrivel. 
Partridge vine, if possible, should be lifted in clumps the depth 
of a sharp spade, the clumps potted, well watered, and given air and 
sunlight without heat. Thus the waxy green leaves and coral-red 
berry clusters keep their beauty till New Year—and beyond. Un¬ 
fortunately, the root, perennial, is deep and creeping, but as it 
haunts cultivated ground, especially creek bottoms or light hedge¬ 
rows, removal is not so difficult. 
Cut clematis with a free knife—never minding the waste. Un¬ 
tangle, pick out trails most richly fringed, take home and spread 
flat on big sheets of cardboard or thin boards, or tack up against 
, if properly dried and 
together when they burst 
a wall. Cardboard is best. Stick stout pins 
through from the under side, and with 
pincers bend over the ends so as to hold 
tne vine stems in place. Tacks weaken 
them to the breaking point; hence avoid 
them. If drying against a wall, attach 
them with strips of leather or cloth, tacked 
at either end. Curve the vines gracefully, 
or make into wreathes before tacking. 
Once dry, they hold the shape. To frame 
a mirror or picture, cut a pattern of it in 
cardboard, fasten the sprays to it, and lay 
flat to dry. An airy attic is excellent for 
such drying; also for storing packed 
ferns. 
Pack only perfect fronds of lace fern, 
stag horn and maiden hair. Spread first 
many thicknesses of newspaper, smooth 
and flat, cover it with ferns well spread; 
lay on more newspaper — three thicknesses, 
at least — weight corners; lay on more 
ferns, more papers, shifting weights to 
hold them steady, and repeat till all the 
ferns are packed. Then weight the pack 
with light boards. Sword ferns, the hard¬ 
est of all, can be thus packed, but should 
be dug up, taking care not to bruise them, 
freed of old and inferior leaves, then the 
roots packed close and tight in a box or 
trough, with a very little earth, 
sprinkled very well, and set un¬ 
der a shed or on the north side 
of a building. Throw something 
over them when it is very cold, or re¬ 
move indoors. In mild or moderate 
weather they do better in the open, 
and will stay green all winter if not 
frosted. Let alone the tall, branchy 
brake fern, however tempting; it will 
crisp and twist to worthlessness, no 
matter how carefully handled. 
Liang milkweed pods, head down, 
where it is dry, cool and still. By slow 
drying they will not shatter when they 
burst. Goldenrod, 
picked in prime 
and carefully 
dried, makes rather 
handsome fluff, but 
much less so than 
a dull pink peren¬ 
nial, whose her¬ 
baceous stalks 
spring up in damp 
places, and pro¬ 
duce great, round 
heads of small, 
fine blossoms. 
( Cont. on p. 329) 
When the roadside clematis has formed its silken 
clusters it may be carefully brought in to grace the 
house in winter 
(291) 
