TIIE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
189 
paper to extract the moisture, then lay each card be¬ 
tween sheets of tissue paper, with newspapers over and 
under and place under weights. When dried, care must 
be taken in removing them from the card, as they have 
become brittle, but it can successfully be done by rais¬ 
ing the edges with the point of a knife. 
Clover-leaves of various sizes will be found to form 
beautiful bells, resembling Lily of the Valley, by fasten¬ 
ing the edges together with a white stamen in the cen¬ 
ter. Very small ones are necessary for this purpose, the 
larger ones can be made to resemble the Canterbury 
Bells. 
CHILDREN’S SUITS. 
When the guimpe and Mother Hubbard dresses were 
first introduced, many mothers hesitated ih adopting 
them for their children; they gave them such a quaint 
appearance as though the little people had strolled out 
from some old picture gallery, and might at any time 
be recalled ; but now that we are accustomed to these 
dainty costumes, which are really very picturesque, 
they are growing more and more in popularity. 
The guimpe is either a little white waist tucked and 
embroidered, and having long sleeves slightly gathered 
in a band at the wrist, over which the low-necked 
sleeveless dress is worn, or else a square yoke and long 
sleeves of muslin, to which the full skirt is sewed. For 
girls two years old the best dresses should be all white, 
but for general wear the white guimpe is used with 
colored cashmere, flannel, lawns, or Turkey-red cottons, 
and the contrast is very pleasing. Sometimes these full 
skirts are shirred in centre of back and front and then 
left to hang loosely, and sometimes they are gathered 
into a belt. For cool days, or when traveling, these little 
dresses are made entirely of some dark flannel, either 
blue or wine-colored, having the guimpes simulated; 
rows of braid trim both skirt and guimpe. The Mother 
Hubbard dresses, with full straight breadths and tucked 
or shirred yoke are pretty for cambric or gingham, and 
look well on slender children. Dresses for these little 
ones should be long enough to reach to the foot, but are 
shortened each year until at ten they are just of suffi¬ 
cient length to cover the knees. 
Little close white caps of embroidered muslin having 
on the edge an embroidered ruffle, are very much used. 
Fancy colored shoes are seldom seen ; black ones are 
used instead, with stockings wliich correspond with the 
color of the dress. 
For girls from five to ten years of age, the Jersey 
suits are liked for general wear; they consist of a kilt- 
plaited flannel or cashmere skirt, fastened to a basque 
of the Jersey webbing, which adjusts itself to the 
figure without the aid of any seams, except those of 
the shoulder and under the arm. A sash of the skirt 
material is draped around the hips covering the seam 
which joins the skirt to the waist. A very pretty suit 
of this kind had the kilted skirt of cardinal cashmere 
Jersey basque to match in color, also the wide-brimmed 
straw hat, simply trimmed with pompons and velvet 
ribbons. White muslin dresses are made with embroid¬ 
ered yoke and full waist hanging loosely as a blouse, 
the skirt trimmed with a deep embroidered ruffle. 
Girls of ten have their dresses just long enough to cover 
their knees, but gradually lengthened as they get in 
their teens, until of the length of ladies’ walking 
skirt. 
Little girls wear their hair parted across the top of 
their head, and the part combed forward trimmed to 
fall over the forehead in straight bangs, while the back 
is flowing and slightly crimped or curled. No ribbons 
are used when the hail 1 is so arranged. I 
Small boys wear plaited dresses of dark flannels or of 
gray linen; these are not kilted, but have three box- 
plaits down front and back, deep, square collars and 
cuffs. Stockings match the dress in color - . A wide- 
brimmed straw hat simply trimmed with a band of 
ribbon having the ends notched, are worn with these 
suits. Boys four years old wear box-plaited skirts made 
with eight broad plaits. Little cut-away jackets are 
used for cool days, over the plain white linen or 
figured percale shirt waists, which have deep collars or 
else sailor-blouses, so loose and baggy as to hide the 
belt. These skirts are laid aside at the age of seven 
years, for the little knee pants, which are worn until 
boys get to be twelve years old, when long pants should 
take their place. 
HOUSEKEEPING. 
Potatoes. 
There is nothing in the whole range of vegetables 
which one oftener finds poorly cooked than the com¬ 
monest of all—potatoes; and yet nothing is simpler if one 
only appreciates the fact that a potato requires as care¬ 
ful cooking as any other vegetable. Indeed there is no 
other that is as easily spoiled in cooking. It matters not 
how good the potatoes were originally, if the water is 
not poured off as soon as they are done, and the potatoes 
set back on the range a moment to dry, they will not be 
palatable. Some cooks seem to have no idea of propor¬ 
tion when they select potatoes to cook, but will put large 
and small in a kettle together, and take them up at the 
same time, or they will set the kettle on one side of the 
range in a hole that is barely one quarter over the fire, 
and .part of the potatoes will be boiled to pieces before 
the rest are done. If potatoes boil very fast they will 
boil to pieces before they are done in the centre. They 
should cook steadily and have plenty of water on them, 
and if it boils nearly off, even if they are almost done, it 
