The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-01-22

In Woman'S World.


masculinity is in every case the VICTIM.
This is dead wrong, as all w~omankind
knows. The victim of the petticoat, as
every thinking person will admit, Is
woman herself. She not only has to wear
the thing, but, what is a still bitterer
pill, she has to buy it, has to pay Tor
having it kept tidy and trust to Provi-.
dence as to its being worth even the
time passed in selecting 1t. For SILK Is
/ about as likely to prove utterly goou-
f~or-nothing as it is to wear ike IRON.
We hear of this last sort sometimes from
enthusiastic people, but alas! we our
selves are only too likely to discover thal
fortunes wheel had been turning the
other way when we made our own llttle
purchases. Indeed, the Providence whlcn
watches over us in the selection of the
petticoat is not TO be depended upon.
If there is a blessing always ready iof
the man who invented sleep there
should surely be another at hand Tor the
one who first thought of hot-house
flowers.
Here we are in mid-winter ana oiu
mother natures face is as grim as II
ever will be, and yet as we go shlvernls
in and out of almost every public place
| we come to, we are suddenly met by d
breath of midsummer that warns our
| very hearts core.
There is the hot f1ower-man or
woman and for a few pennies we can
| fasten a fragrant bit of loveliness into d
buttonhole and go on our way rejoicing.
The fashion of wearing a bunch OF vlo-
lets or a rose or two on the street eeE-
tainly originated in some mind OF an
! %aftruistic turn, since the dainty mald VINO
floats past you leaves behind her d
delicate odor of fresh sweet flowers on d
cold, biting day, is more than a thing OF
beauty-she is joy forever.
But alas these frail, fragrant blooms
are very short-lved, and tWenty-four
hours will make them lose their loneliness
unless they are most carefully watched
They are worth the care they need. now
ever, and not every one knows that II any
flowers begin to droop a good plunge into
hot water that contains a little sal vola-
tile will wonderfully revive them.
If a box of cut flowers arrives and the
buds and sprays are put into a generous
bowl of water they will do very well for a
time if some of the leaves as well as the
stems are under the surface OF the water;
but each morning the entire group should
be separated, bathed in tepid water, the
stems cut off about an inch, and then re-
placed in the bowl, where they Will as
onish you with their vitality. Ii they
are in a warm room and it can be ar
ranged, a fine mist like spray thrown over
them several times a day, will be most
grateful to both flowers and owner.
If the buds are to be worn in the cor
sage, the belt or the hair, put a bit of
wax at the end of the STEMS, and they
will keep fresh twice as long as if I'M
touched.
It is time for those far-seeing ones who
planted violets and pansies in the early
fall to reap their reward now. but even
among those who must depend upon the
street vender or the public stand the day
need not dawn that sees them without a
soft bloom on their breasts if they can at
ford a bit of silver now and then and will
take a little trouble to keep their
bouquets fresh.
One thing more. If floral decorations
are not too luxurious. they give a better
effect. as flowers, like people, show off
best in uncrowded places and grow dis
trait in freedom.
"Harper's Bazaar says that to save. to
be thrifty to the point of avarice. IS the
virtue or vice of the French nation, ana
it strongly %tinctures the Fr~anco-Belg1an
temperament. But to teach children the
value of saving what is apt to seene 10
them waste is not an ~unadvisable process.
Much French attention has lateiy peeh
drawn to the object-lesson given to the
pupils of certain public schools OF Brus-
sells. During eight months the scholars
rich and poor, were requested to coiiect
each day and to bring to school any ana
all objects that they saw while comma
and going on their schoolways-materlal
thrown away and counted as refuse in
the cutters, in vacant ground, street.
~sweepings, and like deposits. Waste
paper. wood. fragments of leather. bits
of metal. empty bottles, broken glass,
corks, cigar ends, and a score OF other
classifcations were made as the f1otsam
and jetsam poured in daily. The general
result was that this unattractive but
quite convertible material was sold to
dealers in raw material with surprising
profits. They provided clothing for about
five hundred little waits of poverty. and
1uIIllSlleo 0lOiCy III liz oSiiNIAS ~
ninety-eight invalid children to health
resorts; paid for all the books needed in
several charity classes, and afforded a
sum of several hundred francs for the
city's Public Assistance of the Poor.
Jane Taylor's little girl who cried Dear
mel what signifies a pin wedged in a
rotten board?" should have been educated
in Brussels.
In the house where ferns are kept in
duce by means of evaporation, Swinging
or spraying as much moisture to the air
as possible, for they generally do not
successfully withstand a dry, parching
atmosphere, says the "Woman's Home
Companion For the purpose ofEetain-
ing a moist air about the plant Wardian
cases or ferneries are often used with
good success, or a glass bell placed over
the plant part of the time. 1t is well to
bear in mind, also, that ferns with the
exception of the hardy upland sorts)
grow in moist, shaded places. 1t is there
fore essential that they never dry out and
that they be kept in partial shade. 1t is
not wise. however, to soak the plants
daily. whether needed or not. When new
fronds are unfurling, avoid placing the
plant in a position where it will be ex-
posed to the full power of the sunlight,
as it will sometimes burn or blast the
tender young fronds.