Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1893-10-26
LOOK TOWARD CHRISTMAS.

for tho Winters Holiday.
Every home maker knows that it
adds greatly to the holiday festivities
to have the table and house handsome
ly decorated with flowers, green things,
and the like, and, the most of us know,
too, that when we are filled with
Christmas enthusiasm our generosity is
sure to be larger than our purse, and
if we have only the latter resource
decorations are pretty sure to give
way to the more important needs.
Why not turn ovor a new leaf this
year and practice the virtue of fore
thought? II you are in the country, or
live where you can make an occasional
excursion into it, there is scarcely a
fence corner that will not yield some
thing to your collection. Not trash
either, that will make your rooms look
like a cheap bazar or children's play
house, but materials which, artistically
arranged over background Of hand
some evergreen (which, of course, must
be had fresh at Christmas), will make
them indeed charming.
It is almost too late to gather ripe
grains, but there are many grasses and
weeds that have beautiful seed heads.
and if these are gathered and dried by
trying them in small clusters, heads
downward, in q dark closet, they can
be effectively utilized for any number
of different decorations. But, remem-
Der, artistic effects are only possible
when they are used in the natural
state, and that alum crystals, dyes and
paint make them cheap, gaudy abomi-
nations. To add bright touches of
color, gather a generous supply Of the
gorgeous red-and-yellow fruit of the
bitter-sweet vine, sweetbrier seed yes
sells, dogwood, mountain ash, winter
green and asparagus berries. Besides
these you should have thistles and
milkweed seed pods for pompons; cat
tails, ferns and MOSES; pine, hemlock
and other cones; ac0rns, chestnuts,
walnuts and butternuts, gathered
green on branches, as well as fully
ripe; sumach and all sorts of bright
hued autumn leaves, and. daintier than
any, the soft, fluffy punches and long,
trailing vines of wild clematis. Vases,
photograph frames, card baskets, boxes
and many other articles can be pretti-
ly decorated with grey ichens from
old fence boards and rails The cyme
of the elderberry, from which the
ripened berries have fallen, is beauti-
full in form and rich in color.
| In short, when once you are inter-
ested in the subject, there is almost no
end to the treasures you will find. But
do not be content with dried or other
wise preserved specimens. Carry home
some fern roots and enough soil to pot
them in. Put in potsherds or charcoal
for drainage, press the soil close around
| the roots, then set the pots in a dark
corner of the cellar until the middle of
October, watering once week. At
that time bring them into cool room
set them by north window, keep
damp, but mot wet, until growth starts,
then give more water and a low tenn
pera ture, and at Christmas you should
have thrifty, handsome plants for dec
orative purposes. But whether you
can obtain any or all Of the materials
mentioned above you surely can ex-
pend dollar or two in winter flower
ing bulbs, as hyacinths, tulips, freesias,
| polyanthus narcissuses Chinese New
Years lilies (Narcissus Orientalis,)
etc, and by planting them properly
both as to time and manner you may
have a profusion of fragrant blossoms
for table and other decorative purposes.
M " 7sr;,r,os