Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-10-17
BEAUrIrYINs THE HOME.
The Craze That At Present Affects
HOusehOlders and Makes Decorators
Happy.

From the New YORK sun
"The city shows many interesting and occa
sionalIy pathetic instances of the efforts of wo-
men, and sometimes men. to beautify their
homes. This is particularly noticeable in the
tenement house districts where a row of gaunt
and bare-looking windows is sometimes enliv.
ened by a easement about which some climb
ing plant is guided" said dealer in stained
glass yesterday. "On the east and west sides
one occasionally sees windows that have plain
muslin curtains prettily Topped back with rib
hons, and once in awhile rough lace curtains
are visible. This sort of decoration is not con-
fined to the tenement wards by any means,
however Passing over the other extreme
that is, the very rich people who have their
windows on Fifth avenue decorated by highly
finished boxes OF plants, take the streets on
either side of Fifth avenue and within block
the houses SO located are devoted to boarder :.
and it is the boarder who usually decorates his
room. Nearly opposite me on Thirty eighth
street there is a young cOuple-they have been
married about two years, beieve-who have
made their windows as attractive as any have
seen. The wife has q natural liking for flowers
and she knows how to cultivate them. Boxes
are made SO that they can be put out on the sill
in the summer and inside in winter, and the
cages hang in the two windows over the flow
ers, but the birds have been so carefully trained
that they are rarely put into their cages. They
fly about in the room and sing SO that they can
be heard across the street. don't see prettier
sight all day than that which greets me every
wife is plump little creature of the blonde
type. and she wears a tight-fitting robe that
looks as though it might be made of Turkish
toweling. For two hours every morning she is
busy with her birds and flowers.
about two years ago, when was inhabiting
came interested in two young women who lived
in the rear Of the house on the street behind
mine. They were working girls, and L suppose
they didn't make much money, as they were
on the top floor of the house But they had q
parrot that that was endowed with great intelli-
noticed them they were devoting most OF their
time to this parrot. Subsequently, they got a
little canary in a cage, and finally few flowers
Then they introduced kitten one day. and in
order that the bird should not be harmed they
made a little kennel for the kitten and put it
outside the window The kitten seemed happy
enough and frisked around the window sii
cheeriully for week or two, until the girls had
succeeded In n. making it acquainted with the
birds: Then the birds and the kitten and the
two shop girls dwelt tremendously together
lit was observing such things as these that
and SO went into this business. Colored paper
OF certain designs is now sold at "a very low
price and can be placed on the glass so deity
ana securely that when the light shines through
II IL mas precisely the same effect as stained
grass. "A great many of the highly decorated
saloons that you along the streets owe the
variegated appearance of their windows to this
paper. OF late it has been taken up somewhat
In private houses, and many a solitary dweller
~ Il Single room III big city house pastes paper
on the window panes and gets gorgeous effect
as though the sun shOne through the most eX-
De called a rage or a craze for artistic doorways
and windows now. A few years ago when a
man built house on Fifth or Madison avenue.
ne was content to have the regulation vestbule
doorway of hard wood polished and decorated
with mouldings. Nothing of that sort will do
~ now Sy AS mucn money is now often spent
on doorwayS 3s was formerly spent on the win
ooWs OF whole house, and there is apparently
no limit to the expense (Which house building
VIII go In the matter OF doorway decorations
Inc Whole movement is the result of an effort
10 get rid OF the tiresome similarity and ever.
lasting sameness OF the houses of New York.
The Shrinhase Of Alpine Glaciers.
From The London Times
Prof. Albert Helm, writing in the Alpenzcitung.
says that Judging from phenomena observed
during the last few years in the snow regions of
the Alps OF Switzerland, steady increase in
the snow and subsequent early advance of the
glaciers had been fully expected. This had
actually taken place in the Western Alps. but
tne indications OF the summer just passed are
., .e same al nature as they were in 1868, the
everywhere. In the st. Gothard range on the
Iodi, and the surrounding mountain chains
Prof. Helm found during the past season that
the snow had reiterated, even as compared with
1854. This has had unpleasant consequences
Pastures which formerly were mostened by the
water Issuing from small snow fields during the
summer months have been dried up Springs
10rmeriy FED by snow water have disappeared
stony deserts, which will be changed to pasture
land only after the lapse of many years De-
presslons In the snow, formerly easily crossed
have been turned into dangerous glacier passes
In many places where formerly the snow field
closely joined the rocks there are now danger
GUS chasms. and both glaciers and snow beds.
having become thinner. are more intersected
than ever. Looking down from the summit of
the Iodi on August Is, DIR. Helm was greatly
struck by the dirty gray color OF the surround
ing snow fields, in contrast to their dazzling
Wilderness of former years. This, Dr. Helm
says, is the result of the continual melting of
the snow and the concentration of particles of
Dust on the surface of the melted layers Ex-
tensive slopes which formerly remained con-
stantly covered with snow are now completely
that the growth of the glaciers of the Swiss AIMS
will take a long time for 1t must first be pre-
ceded by an accumulation of snow in the SNOWY
regions.