DIVISION IV.

HOME AND HOUSEHOLD.

BY MRS. JENNIE E. DUNNING, WASHINGTON, D.C.

CHAPTER I.

THE HOME AND FLOWER GARDEN.

"'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home:
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,
Which, seek through the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere.
Home, home, sweet home,

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."

SHELTERLESS, homeless, and hungry, amid the cold and sleet of a winter night in London, it is said, John Howard Payne conceived and gave to the world "Home, Sweet Home." Now philanthropic hearts and loving hands have borne his bones from sunny Italy to Oak Hill Cemetery, where a lofty monument towers above, and evergreen myrtle creeps over his dust. There is an unseen monument, whose foundations are broader and firmer, and there is evergreen that is fadeless, in the undying devotion to the sentiment contained in those words. His song encircled the world, and will live on in the hearts of the children of men, until the angel of the Lord, with his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, shall declare that time shall be no more.

Some one has said that the best words in the English language are Mother, Home, and Heaven. In the broadest and truest sense, they are inseparable. Standing alone they are like beautiful melodies that are quiet and restful; but blend them together in concord, with a just adaptation to one another, and they become one grand, harmonious whole, whose music reaches into future years and is unending.

A true, pure home is the "sacred refuge of our life." With silent influence, the strong and tender cord of affection draws the wanderer and wayfarer back into the paths of rectitude and virtue. When these memories and affections are sanctified by a mother's unselfishness and prayers, they reach beyond the things of time and sense, even to the "house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." While home life is educational in things seen and unseen, it is also eminently practical. It should be a co-operative institution, each member having his allotted task, and performing it with promptness and regularity, thus enabling the wheels of domestic machinery to run easily and without friction. The text, "Order is Heaven's first law," should have secure lodgement in the mind of each, and by faithfully applying it to every duty, much annoyance, perhaps many family jars," will be avoided. But, after all, home is pre-eminently woman's kingdom. If riches are hers, so that, like the lilies of the field, she need neither toil nor spin, she should still be able to direct. But when she is both mistress and maid, she needs to be clothed with the armor of industry, patience, perseverance, tact, gentleness, firmness, and all the other cardinal virtues. Let her ever remember that a true home is emblematic of a heavenly home. Into such a dwelling the twin sisters, comfort and happiness, never wait to be invited, but enter and take up their abode. She may not be the breadwinner, but such a home-maker's "Price is far above rubies. Her children arise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her."

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

"God might have made the earth bring forth

Enough for great and small,

The oak tree and the cherry tree,

Without a flower at all:

We might have had enough, enough,

For every want of ours,

For luxury, medicine, and toil,

And yet have had no flowers.

“Our outward life requires them not;

Then wherefore had they birth?

To minister to man's delight,

To beautify the earth;

To comfort man, to whisper hope,
Whene'er his faith is dim;

For whoso careth for the flowers

Will care much more for him."

There is no better index of refinement in the home than flowers. Books speak of cultivation of mind, of acquired knowledge; but the love of flowers is the natural indication of a refined nature; and the cultivation of these "Thoughts of God" lends a delightful companionship to those who faithfully care for them. An ancient writer has said: "To have a flower garden is to have many friends continually near." In large cities the cultivation of flowers is attended with many difficulties, for want of room; but even there much satisfaction may be gained from a few varieties and climbing vines. In villages and the country, no excuse can be offered for their neglect. The pleasure gained from their care generally repays the possessor for all the time bestowed upon them, and the few moments spent each day bring a pleasant change from the monotony of daily cares.

Do not begin the cultivation of flowers with the common mistake of choosing too many varieties, but use judicious care in selecting. Commence with ten or a dozen hardy varieties, and, when success is assured, increase your plants and bulbs, if desired. Soil is a very important consideration. That best adapted to flowering plants is a light loam mixed with sand. Many varieties will live in any soil, if well watered; but much better results are obtained when the ground is prepared by deep digging, a thorough pulverizing, and a liberal enriching with large quantities of well-rotted manure. The progress of germination varies in different kinds of seed, and the patience of the cultivator is often greatly taxed with seeds that germinate slowly. But patient waiting is at length rewarded by the tiny sprouts of green, which contain promise of the future flower.

Since many failures come from improper treatment of seeds and young plants, a careful study of the following rules is recommended. Do not plant seeds in a wet soil, but in a damp soil, making it fine and smooth. Cover the finest seeds a quarter of

an inch deep; those the size of a pin head, half an inch; those as large as a pea, one inch. After making the soil as fine as possible with a rake, press it firmly over the seed. For the smaller seed, make the soil still finer, by crushing the lumps with the hands. Obtain a piece of planed lath, about two feet long; press the edge down into the soil evenly, so as to make a groove as deep as the seed is to be planted. Scatter the seed along this, allowing four or five of the larger, or fifteen or twenty of the smaller, seed to the space which one plant is to occupy when grown. Take care not to spill any of the seed between the rows. Cover the seed by filling the earth over it; then turn the lath flatwise and press the soil down firmly and evenly. Put a little stick at the end of the row to mark it, and do not pull plants out of the row unless sure that they are weeds. Cultivate flowers that are hardy; such as peonies, petunias, phlox, asters, zinnias, etc., putting one kind in each of the small oval beds cut out here and there on the lawn; or else use some high-growing plant in the centre, and low ones around the borders of the beds, which should be raised a few inches toward the centre.

Select such colors as blend nicely, and give them good care. Where possible, flower gardens should be located so as to be shaded from the afternoon sun. Large beds should be avoided, unless abundant time and care can be bestowed upon them. For borders, use bricks set edgewise, large, smooth pebbles, or narrow plank. Strips of turf, if well clipped, make a pretty border. Spade the beds very deep and mix manure, sand, and rotted leaves with the soil, raising the dressing a little above the surface.

All flowers raised from seed are classified as annuals, biennials, and perennials. Annuals are those plants that last but one season. After blossoming they perish, their kind being reproduced from seed. This class of plants is again divided into the hardy and half-hardy, or tender, kinds. Hardy annuals require no artificial heat, every stage of their development being passed in the open ground. They are easily cultivated. There are many varieties, and their flowers are attractive and beautiful. The seeds may be sown from the first of April to the middle of June. Care should be taken to arrange the different