THE COSY CORNER CLUB.

Otago Witness, Issue 3510, 21 June 1921, Page 54

THE COSY CORNER CLUB.

Two interesting contributions have come to hand rather late, so as there is cx.ra pressure on space this week it has been found necessary again to spread the C.C.C. contributions over live weeks. I am sure all members will extend a hearty welcome to Hinekupanga who promises to prove a most valuable accession to the Club. Her paper is accompanied by spirited, sketches in colour, iiiustrat.ve of tho work on the tea cloths she describes. A FEW THOUGHTS ON HOBBIES. Dear Esther, —At ark yor.de r man of the world, buried in business, pinned to the desk, the counter, or bis day book and ledger, his office, or day-long at tho elbows of other business men How hard h© is, given over to the grim things of this life—silent, morose, sullen, peering and poring over miserable books; or veibosa, glib, light and empty words tripping off Ins tongue, an agent effecting a sale cr a solicitor pleading ■a cause, unidealistic, practical, worldly, materialistic, lias he a soul, is he human or a mere machine! Follow him to his place of retreat from iho world. Who are these running to greet daddy—tc catch his hands and walk up tlie path with him. Ha! There is a strip of lawn, and here are flower beds—a few choice blooms, wallflowers perhaps, or stock, petunias; lie has tended them; waited their season, anticipated their blocm, will regret th?ir fading and their colour and fragrance will he with him the winter through. That man hai h:s hobby- it serves him, shews that he has a soul, is akin to Nature and tlie great God, iiis Creator. Mark yonder sensitive woman, a devoted mother paid wife. Evening after evening -she sits at her self-imposed task, her darting fingers and flashing needles knowing no rest, tlie work growing and growing, tlie ball of wool vanishing into jumper or vest, slipper or stocking. Bless you there is no time t-o have an evening at home —this work must be done or the bottom may fall cut of tlie universe. And when the work i 3 done and the little gift is ma r, «, how dees husband or child appreciate the devotion that lias gone to the knitting or crochet work? V.'lio can tell! And surely those myriad, myriad stitches are the ex-Pres.-.An of a soul. Take any fellow creature and his or her hobby—it is the same. There is a power of expression in the filling and lighting 1 of a pipe, tho offering of material for the making of a cigarette, tlie taking off of a coat to stoop to the game of bowls, th.a pouring cf a cup of tea, the handing of light refreshments. This is a matter of fact generation, yet see the great number of hobbies of heathen origin that are so popular among us. On© accepted ns a great scientist comes from tlie hub of the universe to bring us a gospel, and we hear from his awful lips drivel that has been handc-d down from prehistoric times—drivel—the hobbies of our remote anseestors—the mummeries of the- medicine men of far off centuries —but. yes "but! these hobbies declare that men at:<l women have souls and spirits, that they suffer, that they yearn to that which is beyond t)i-> seen and the known — they yearn to the infinite and tlie Eternal. -To all that is and ail that is to !>e For ever and for ever. They yearn, they aspire, nn 1 Mother Nature will provide them with Hobbies tor ever. “OSCAR.” You ore a genuine Nature lover, Oscar. How well it is that so many whose regular work is cramping ar.d hardening turn from it to gardening, “the purest cf human pleasures," a.s Lord Bacon found it. Yes, our personality is revealed in all our actions. And hobbies are most valuable as affording free scope for portions of cur nature that might otherwise be dwarfed or suppressed. Tlia nk yen very much for tlie copies of your poems. MY FAVOURITE HOBBY. Alv favourite hobby? Well, dear me! I am one of those unfortunate beings who is a “Jack of all Trades,” and master of none. That is to say, I ride several hobbies; but, alas! do nothing thoroughly, It lias been my lot in life to live much in the country, and near the “bush." with plenty cf spare time. At or.e time I made a book of leaves and blossom from our principal New Zealand forest trees, with their Alacri names. Also a collection of our beautiful and varied ferns and mosses, and of our native flowers. But I do not know even the rudiments of botany. I have made a collection of all kinds cf stones—some very peculiar, some very beautiful, some very uncommon, in shape and colour, one absolutely unique and uncanny. But I simply know nothing of geology. I have gone out prospecting and waslied up gold in a tin pan. I have spent my long winter evenings scribbling storie.s, rhymes, e-ssay3, and what not. But, alas! I know my English is anything but pure, and my grammar ungrammatical. But—what would you. I am a very old colonist, with only an old! colonial’s education, which left much to be desired. Aly real, true hobby is, I suppose, caricaturing and pen ar.d ink sketching on linen, tho latter, my own idea. I did, some years ago, sets of afternoon tea cloths, and cosies, o-f native flowers, berries, carvings, etc. And for my paper will give a description of a sot I did, to send to England, with a few illustrations. Pen and Ink Sketching on Linen.— This clo ; h is descriptive of come of the wonders and flora cf New Zealand. First is tho gig a ntic wingless bird—the Aloa—now extinct ; also of the quaint little Kiwi, also wingless, but still extant. Then wo have a reptile which stands pre-eminently alone-. The Tuatara has a genu3, a family, and all order which he shares with nobr.dy, and New Zealand is the only country which has a Tuatara. “Pelorous Ja’ck" has a world-wide renown as the only fish protected bv Act of Parliament. This remailiable white fish is always alone, and pilots all steamers through the French Pass, on the Picton-Nelscn run. The Noah Ark tree, in one of tho two Alaori pah, is tit’ beautiful lace-bark or ribbon wood tree. The bark consists of laver after layer—so ninnv that it is also called “Thousand Jackets"—of beautiful lace-bark which is used to make baskets, note casevs, etc. Then there is a specimen of the cabbage tree cr Ti Palm, also- one of our lovely tree-fern. The toi-toi or pampas grass, the phoriuni tenax, or New Zealand flux, the latter a great article of commerce; the beautiful bush flowers and berries are legion. These 1 have given are the white clematis, tlie scarlet and yellow kowhai. or parrot's beak, the tutu, kc-’omiko, our veronica, of which there are endless varieties. J lie beautiful crimson rata, the ake-ake, ar.d the pretty little white manuka flower, which would be thought a great deal more of if the manuka scrub were not so common an-i such a pest. Although it was a great blessing to the pioneers in tlie early days, used us bedding for animals, brooms, 1 hatching. firewoc 1, and in many other wavs. Another curiosity of New Zealand is tho vegetable sheep. A peculiar mountain plant, of the daisy order, which has the soft woolly appearance cf sheep lying about. It is only found on one or two of our mountains, notably Mount Torleaso, North Canter-

t>nr3 T , ana Mount Ida, Otagol have a tpeeimen frcin Mount Oxford, North Canterbury. Last we have on the doth, which is one yard square, a specimen of Maori carving, at the foot of which are three pawa, or mutton-fish shells. These shells are mother-of-pearl and arc used by tho Maori for the eyes of Maori gods in their carvings. HIXEEU P AXG A. I am delighted to welcome you to the Cosy Corner, Hinelcupanga. You are most versatile in your tastes, and have pursued a variety cf hobbies. That on which you •write, pen and ink drawing, is capable of being turned to good account in endless ways. The original designs illustrative of our native jilantß and animais must be most interesting to people in the Home Country. Certainly your artistic talent deserves to be cultivated. GARDEXIXG. Dear Esther, —Just a lew lines on my favourite hobby, “Gardening.” During the war time, when manual labour was so scarce, many a woman had to be her own gardener, and since then the circle of amateur gardeners widens yearly. These who are attracted by its pleasures find that gardening has more to offer than they imagined, and if they’ take it up with some misgiving, invariably they realise that it possesses a perennial fascination. There is not only the pleasurable aspect of the garden of gathering from each passing season its harvest of fragrant and beautiful blossoms, but the profitable aspect of gathering nice fresh fruit and wholesome vegetables. Success in gardening depends primarily upon thorough cultivation of the soil. It is obvious that the more cfcoeply the ground is worked the greater is the available amount of plant food, and the less quickly’ will the land become impoverished. One of the simplest ways of getting land into a proper state for sowing and planting is to dig it over in autumn and leave it rough throughout the winter —the frost, snow, and rain will do an immense amount of good, and when, m spring, it is dug over, the scil will crumble to a fine tilth. It is sound practice to treat all land in this way as it becomes vacant. Xot only is it far cheaper to raise a stock of plants at home than to purchase them, but the work abounds in interest, whether the propagation be by sewing reeds, taking cuttings, dividing the root stock, budding, grafting, or layering. I find that cuttings from young growing sheets do best in spring and summer, and from hard, firm wood in autumn; but a free use of sand is necessary to success. I tried budding JCC'CS this summer without success, but mean to try again—it is so interesting, and

so is grafting. Spring flowers are always sure of a warm welcome, as much because they conic after the garden lias been bare for months, as for their own beauty’. Dig, sow, anc plant at the correct seasons, stake and tie as become necessary, and give each room for .development, and the r st iiia\ os left to ‘‘the wind end the wea 4 hor, ana your hard and healthy work brings it c » reward.

BUENA VISTA. A good account of a good hobby Buena \ ista. lour practical advice will be of service to many* amateur gardeners. I am so glad you have been able to contribute to this meeting.