WOMEN'S FORUM.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 100, 1 May 1933, Page 10

WOMEN'S FORUM.

i BED OF HERBS. Nearly everybody in Auckland can , have a garden, but how many think of a bed of herbs? How few grow all the seasoning they need in cooking, yet how easy it is to have a good eupply of parsley, a fine bush of eage and all the time growing freely. And what a difference to a plain bit of mutton if it is stuffed to resemble a goose in flavour. The glory of their garden does not help them when they need some flavouring for the Bauce they want to servo with the lamb or the stuffing they intend to use for roast pork. Yet, even with limited space it is not a difficult matter to grow a few herbs and flavouring plants for kitchen needs. Eager women have made a success of growing mint and parsley in kitchen window-boxes. Anyone can grow mint." It should bo planted in a wet soil, preferably near a tap. Beautiful mint grows wild in New Zealand creeks and more housewives should grow herbs — thyme, saga and marjoram. These make attractive and fragrant borders. Spain and Italy are richer by many pounds through the herbs that they export. The butchering trade absorbs a large quantity of herbs. Every home should have a parsley plot. This plant is slow to germinate, and probably this is why one so seldom Bees it in private gardens. To speed up germination: Immerse the seed in hot water for an hour before sowing, or sow it in an inch deep furrow and pour hot water over it. Parsley sown one year will nqt be ready for use till the following. It is wise to look ahead and keep a continuous crop by sowing a little seed from time to time. Another helpful hint is in regard to the drying of herbs for storage. Do not dry in the sunshine of by the heat of an oven, let the herbs dry naturally in the shade, and then pack in tins or bottles. BLOUSES IN PARIS. All underblouses have high necks generally, with bow ties under the chin. Many are cut on mannish lines, meant for morning wear and sports, while for the afternoon they go to the other extreme, made lip in white or pink organdie, pin tucked, hand-worked and lacy, writes Miss Peggy Barnes from Paris. Many of the frocks and costumes at Chantal's are finished off at the neck with a band of organdie tied round the throat and made into a perky little bow in front. Wool tailored suits in grey, rose, beige, and pearl beige are very much in favour. With these colours the blouses are chosen so as to make a bold contrast, being cither dark or in a very bright colour. Dark tops or light skirts are an important fashion feature since the big houses released their latest creations. ORANGE BLOSSOM CUSTOMS. The use of orange blossom at weddings is due to the fact that the orange tree, bearing its ripe, golden fruit and fragrant flowers at the same time, is a symbol of fruitfulness. In Crete the bride and bridegroom are sprinkled with orange-flower water; and in Sardinia oranges were attached to the horns of the oxen which drew the nuptial carriage. Saracen brides , carried orange blossoms at weddings, and probably our modern custom is. a survival, or revival, of theirs. In "Vanity Fair" Thackeray speaks of orange blossoms as "touching emblems of female purity imported by us from France." This happy thought, however, is merely a fancy of his, for orange blossoms, according to French scholars and writers, simply indicate that "mademoiselle" has attained the 6tatus of "madame." WALKING FOR HEALTH. As one steps forward, the weight should fall upon the balls of the feet, first one and. then the other. This gives elasticity to the movement. The exercise of walking ought to lay up for a woman stores of health and beauty; but when she comes down hard on her heels with each step she takes, only nervous evils follow, because of the jar to the internal organs and to the spine, that chain of bones which carries in it the delicate spinal cord, on which tho comfort, power and harmony of the body almost entirely depend. Starting with the three principles well in mind, no woman should stop short of a twomile walk a day. That is very little for some; more would perhaps be better for all but the feeblest. The weak, unaccustomed to walking, should begin with a half-mile at first, gradually increasing I the distance as strength is gained. ,