The National tribune., 1882-09-16
HOME, SWEET HOME.
Something About Woman's WOrk Above
and Below Stairs.

and Below Stairs.
For our household column, which will
hereafter be q regular feature Of THE Ma
TIoNAL TRIBUNE, we have chosen the
familiar title of Home, Sweet Homep AS
James Howard Payne (poor feIlow-ha died
in q foreign landD says in those Immortal
lines of his, be 1t ever so humble, there's
no place like home;" and to make the
homes of our soldiers happy, bright and
restftll, is one of the objects of THE Ma
TIoNAL TRIBUNE. In this column we
shall have something to say, from time to
time, upon nearly all questions that arise
in the Notwithstanding, for instance,
about the work of coed housewives in the
kitchen, the conservatory (for the hum
blest home may boast few pots of fra
grant roses), the sewing-room and the
parlor. But we do not want to do all the
talking ourselves, and we there1ors ask the
wives and daughters of our soldiers to
send us any suggestions and hints and ideas
which they think will be of interest OF
has some favorite dish, for the making OF
which she alone has the recipe. Will she
not send it to us? Every mother who is
familiar with the mysteries of the sewing
room will be willing, we hope, to give US her
advice. Every young maiden who loves
flowers and knows how to tend them should
give us the benefit of her knowledge.
Every practical housewife should help US
to instruct o1r readers in the art of house
hold decoration. In this way we can all do
little towards making the homes of our
beloved veterans beautiful to tho eye and
cheering to the heart.
THE SEWING ROOM.
The summer fashions of 1882 have been
distinguished not only for great variety, but
also for their beauty and adaptability to
diversified needs. If women do not now
wear convenient clothing, it is because they
cannot, or Will not obtain it; there Is moth
ing in fashion to prevent them from doing
so. One of the features has been the almost
universal adoption of the hip panier rs a
drapery, OF continuation of the Over-dress,
and another, the extent to which white, in
its different tints, has been employed
The seasonable fabrics have been particu-
larly we'll devised and capable of simple and
useful arrangement with little expense save
the first cost of material, this being so foil
of dainty color and character. New shades
of blue, gray blue, "electric" blue, "old
china" blue, and others, have come to the
front, and been so widely adopted that their
reign cannot be o long one, though it has
undoubtedly been q popular c"" s
well called a holiday color; it il
and cheerful, and usually puts .9a .
women sensitive to atmosphere, q holiday
humor. Gray blue is used in ,aIa sou5
egg blue, or old china blue, in l. d, arlsrs
and the like, electric blue il ti
beaded trimmings, and also in cloth @
turtium yellow is another cole varF sE-
ionably used, also light, clear vsjio
blue, and deeper yellow with .soez
Dark browns, such as seal bro ia
brown, and Others, have been rse'a
lighter ec,us and tints in wh
shade of yellow, and which ha h
wine-color, and maroon. The
shades of pink have been re as.
associated with cream and ms Har ..
the most elegant dresses wor
party at Saratoga was a fourreau Of shrimp
pink brocade, with plaitings of exquisite lace
let into the seams ut the bottom of the skirt,
q very full cascade of cream lace at the
throat, and clustered loops of maroon velvet
at the sides Of the plated back, which was
cut with small train.
The short dress has been universally worn,
and will continue to be the vogue for street
costumes, for travelling, for toilets used for
dancing, and almost every purpose except
ceremonious dinner dresses. These cannot
be short, but the trains are nearly always
plain, the front of the dress displaying the
trimming and are often of very rich design
and fabric.
THE CONSERVATORY.
Hyacinths in glasses are an elegant and
ornament to the drawing room,
and for this purpose occasion little trouble.
The bulbs should be large and sound, and
should be placed in the glasses as early in
the season as possible; do not let the water
cover more than the base of the bulb; keep
them in the dark until their roots reach
nearly or quite to tho bottom of the glasses,
after which the lightest position possible,
avoiding the direct rays of the sun, should
be given them. The water in which they
grow should be changed two or three times
week, and in severe weather the plants
must be removed from the window to be
secure against frost.
A few dried grasses, ferns, wild vines, etc,
gathered for winter bouquets, give an added
pleasure, beside the beauty in themselves, in
serving as mementoes OF. many a delightful
summer jaunt. Ferns are best gathered in
August, yet September is not too late to give
very satisfactory results if care is taken in
selecting them. Dry them between folds OF
any soft newspaper or blotting paper under
pressure the main object being to remove
all moisture as soon as possible, and to do
this rapidly the paper should be thick
enough to absorb water freely, and must be
changed ss often as they become damp.
A small herbarium of plants some thirty