CORNER FOR BUSY BEES.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 10, 12 January 1929, Page 3 (Supplement)

CORNER FOR BUSY BEES.

TO MAKE POT POURRI. A SWEET SMELLING MIXTURE FOR YOUR ROOM. (Conducted by TINKER BELL.) Dear Girls, — Tbe delightful freshness of the country air in summer, the fragrant •melt of the new mown hay, and the scent of the backwoods can be reproduced in a room in the busiest city if one cares to take the trouble to make some pot pourri. First, the petals must be taken from three dozen full-blown roses, and •pread out on a newspaper in the sun to dry. The petals must be frequently turned to assure perfect drying on all sides. The drying process may take as long as a week to complete, but we must be sure that the ingredients are perfectly dry, otherwise mould will set in and spoil the pot pourrL The completely dry petals should be brown and crisp to the touch. During the night the petals are collected, and are taken indoors away from the evening dew, which would spoil all the hard work of the sun during the daytime. A large sprig of thyme must also be made perfectly dry. Fifty Urge, strong smelling geranium leaves must also be collected, cut up into small pieces and dried, as were the rose petals. A big bunch of lavender is also-needed for the pot pourri, and there is a special way of drying it. Take the bunch and tie the heads inside a brown paper bag and hang it up, head downwards on a wall in the run until the flowers fall off. The flowers are then dried off in the sun until they, too, are quite dry like the rose petals. A few ounces of orris root and a small quantity of tonquin beans, procurable from the local chemist, must next be placed in a piece of muslin and pounded together with a hammer. You can now mix all the ingredient* together, adding to it three tcaspoonfuls of all spice. The leaves, etc., when being mixed, should be crushed as small as possible between the hands. I usually put pot pourri in a closed jar so that I can let out its fragrance just whenever I want to, but some people make little muslin bags and satchets to contain it, and I'm sure that they are very nice, too. However, girls, I can leave this part of the process to you, for once the beautiful pot pourri mixture is complete I know that you will soon find some way of storing it. Her Choice. Hostess (at children's party): Will you have apricots or figs? Nervous little guest: Pigs, fleas.