Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-26
COUNTRY DOCTOR CURES
DECORATIVE AND MANY OTHER
USES FOR LARKsPUR.

Written for The Evening Star
The old doctors eyes twinkled as he saw
upon Mrs. Early's boudoir table some long
plumey rich blue sprays, set delicateiy In a
cut-glass vase The flowers were worthy
their setting, beautiful as the morning,
graceful itself. What amused him was
their contrast with Mrs. Early's mental at
titude-she said she simply could not en-
dure anything common or useful.
"Larkspur coming In fashion-eh?' he
said, nodding to the flowers. Mrs. Early
began to say: 'Why, no! Delphinium-'
but he ran on as though she had not
spoken: "Bless my soul! the flowers take
me back forty-odd years. All my patients
had larkspur patches-pink, blue, purple
and ringstreaked-y. In fact, believe they
would hardly have tried to keep house
without. It's a pretty flower, and hardy"
oh did they decorate with 1t?" Mrs.
Early asked. The doctor grinned.
Semi-occasionally-wh other flowers
were scarce he said. But they didn't
like to waste tit was too useful, you see.
Possibly you don't know it, but larkspur is
among the finest insecticideS-and my old
friends had heaps of vermin to fight. So
they raised enough to make larkspur straw
for nests when hen got broody, and lark
spur soap to wash cats and dogs-yes, and
even pigs. Maybe you will like to hear
about the soap-an armful of fresh larkspur
was boiled in a big kettle until there was
strong decoction. The stalks were skinned
out, and the liquor boiled down stronger
indeed 1t could not well be too strong.
Then hard soap was shaved into 1t, and
stirred till 1t dissolved. The mixture was
cooled and cut in cakes Dogs and cats
were washed with the soap, to rid them of
fleas and mango. The latter had to be we'll
rinsed off, or the animals licking themselves
might get sick.
bird cages scalded in boiling larkspur
soapsuds came out clear Of vermin. A
cake Of the soap dissolved in five gallons of
whtewash was mighty fine thing for a
poultry house. or cattle she'd A fresh coat
of such whitewash every three months put
mites and lice to rout. Indeed, the plant
seems to be a specially designed antidote
for every sort Of blood-sucking parasite.
The leaves of it dried and powdered answer
nearly as well as the soap-with the ad-
vantage that they can be used where the
soap is out of the question
II repeat this is neutrality-suspicious.
Formosum." Mrs. Early said with touch
of asperity. laying her hand as she spoke
upon the blue plumes They may look like
your larkspur, but 1 assure you that they
are not-they came out of a hot house, and
are all the fashion, now that blue flowers
are so much out of season.
'.All the larkspur are Delphiniums," the
doctor retorted. Your flowers are, 1 adj
NIT, the aristocrats of the class, In that 1t
takes them two years to flower, They are
also more double, with richer blooms and
longer sprays than their old-fashioned an
nual couSins-but cousins none the less.
There is a wild purple larkspur, also
pink one, which blooms in early spring.
But neither the wild flower nor that which
the florists force, can put out of court the
hardy lace-leafed sisterhood which will
spring up and bloom year after year, seed
ing itself by chance, ripening. and blossom
ing cheerily, in the most unpropitious
places. Indeed, you can hardly kill it, once
it is well seeded-it grows like weed with
even half chance. Everybody ought to
give 1t chance. packet Of seed may be
had for five cents. Give the seed q wee
corner Of the back yard or even big box
of earth, and you may have larkspur for
use all the year round. 1t will grow no
matter how thick 1T stands. The most part
of the stalks should be pulled up just as
they come into bloom, dried in the shade
and put away dry in a paper bag. If sown
very early the new seed will produce
second crop. A single plant left standing
will furnish much more than enough seed
for next years sowing"
Housekeepers have long recognized the
efficacy Of bread crumbs in cleaning grease
spots from wallpaper, kid, boiling cloth,
lamp shades. screens and other decorative
articles. Now comes the information that
they are the best possible agents to employ
in the proper cleansing of pictures. In the
London atmosphere pictures are attacked
by fog. SCOT, sulphuric acid and other pro-
ducts Of coal combustion. which reach even
pictures that are under glass. Prof.
Church, to whom has been intrusted the
cleaning of the pictures in the houses of
parliament uses for this purpose two
crumbled-up quartern loaves, which are
put into machine run by compressed air,
and which discharges the crumbs through
q tube upon any part of the picture. This
treatment is said to have been very salts
factory.
Charcoal. which burns as readily as pine
and produces greater heat in proportion to
its weight than any other fuel, is now TAX
ing the place Of kindling wood in many
homes. At the housefurnishing stores
small basket stoves may be procured ex-
pressly for broiling. Even in the ordinary
range charcoal may be used by removing
one Of the covers, opening the drafts
and building fire directly over the oven.
AS soon as well af1ame close the drafts
and use the clear scarlet fame for broiling.
In France. after getting a meal with just
handful of charcoal, if bit as large as
walnut Is left, water is sprinkled over 1t to
extinguish the blaze, and the atom is laid
aside for next time If long, slow cooking
is required two pieces of hard coal are used
to supplement the charcoal.