Civilian & telegraph. [volume] (Cumberland, Md.) 1859-1875, 1865-08-31
Civilian & Telegraph.
THURSDAY, AUGUST "a, 1865.
HOW 10 MAKE BEAUTIFUL HOMES. q

The greater part ofour population are wait
ing till they can afford to have pleasant homes
forgetting that they can at no time afford t.
have any other. We take the color of oul
daily surroundings, and are happier, more a
miable, stronger to labor and firmer to endure
when those surroundings are pleasing and il
good taste. TO possess these important quail.
tiles they need not be extensive. True beau.
ty is cheaper than we think The first charm
Of q house, within and without, is thorough
neatness, and this is the result of habit. no,
outlay 1t is oftener cheaper than filth. Paint
the house if you can if not, whtewash but
in any case let it be in thorough repair. Let
there be no loose shingles or dangling clap
boards, or gates hanging by broken hinge.
These hints favor thrift as well as taste. Let
the house be sufficiently shaded. This will
pay in comfort, wear and furniture, and lack Of
flies. If you can afford green blinds you can
always afford green tree or two, that costs
you nothing but labor and patience, and will
shelter you from the sun in summer and the
wind in winter.
Plant vines of some kind about your prem
ises they are indispensable to grace they
show that nature takes kindly to your home
aud has thrown her arm around it. You need
not resort to costly climbers; woodbine and
cIemats may be had for the gathering, and
grapes aud hop vines may be so trained as to
combine beauty and profit. Let your turf be
smooth and firm as velvet, and enforce the
death penalty upon weeds with an unsparng
hand. No man, rich or poor, can afford to
raise weeds. They choose the richest spots,
where flowers, or fruit, or vegetables might
Il, A. - l.
aries of evil into every nook and corner. H.
kept places always have their vegetable Five
Points, where sin and misery are mmicked in
chickweed, burlock and nettles. A very few
flowers will suffice monthly rose in the
window, morning-glor over the doorway,
u bright border between your kitchen garden
and the street; these add to the picture just
those touches of color that make it pleasant
to the eye. With halfa dozen cheap and COM
mon kinds, your wife will take care that some
filing is always in bloom.
But flowers are gross feeders, and if YOU
keep no domestic animals, you fancy perhaps,
that you have no manure. You were never
more mistaken, Every human dwelling is
centre of fertilzing agents, mostly wasted as
times go, rich enough to make the whole plot
around it blossom like the rose. Tell the soil
that you have nothing to give it! Give it
what you have and it will laugh in your face.
The suds from the laundry is store ofliquid
wealth. Never waste drop of it in drains
and sewers. 1t is aAoating currency, promis-
ing to pay roundly in grass, and vegetables,
and fruit. Invest in your home bank, which
never suspends payment. These grassy slopes
are greenbacks, whose issue is as good as gold
Carpet sweepings are manure in a concentra
ted form. Dug into your flower borders they
weave richer pattern than the one from
which they were worn. The old bones that
dcform the premises, if buried beneath the
grape vine, will be "health to the bones" of
nlf their friends. Old boots and shoes, those
most unsghtly wrecks. are the favorite food
of the raspberry and all its palataDle kin.
Tainted brine, if such unhappily is yours, is
Il treasure for the plum trees and asparagus
bed; slacken lime with it, and it will make a
rich dressing for any garden soil Every
should have its compost bed, be it
only an old packing box, where wooden rags,
bits ofpaper, apple-parings, refuse of vegeta-
bles, Stops from the kitchen, chips and saw
lust, are storing up the elements of glorious
growth. Let not yours be one of the homes
where all bright Possibilities arrive only at
: burning instead Of beauty" We have named
but part of the fertilizers of every house.
iold. Generally speaking whatever is often
,ivc to sight or smell is urging the appeal to
,ur revolted tastes. Bury me, and I'll do
you good.