MOTHER AND HOME.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16938, 12 January 1923, Page 10

MOTHER AND HOME.

Floods of Sunshine. —South or west aspect means that your rooms will be , flooded with sunshine, and cool, rest ful tints are needed. .Soft blues and greens and greys will bo most success fill. Apart from the perceptible comfort of these colourings, they will act as a very real help to the eyes. To sit in a room that reflects a glare may. ami probably will, cause serious eye trouble. Meaning of Names.— Much interest centres on the giving of names. Fox instance, Margaret means a pearl, and is derived from the Persian word io?that jewel, Murvarid, the child of light. The old Persian theory of the origin or the pearl was very beautiful; i. was thought that on moonlight nights the oyster rose to the surface of the water and, opening its shell in u prayer of thankfulness to the moon, received into its mouth a drop oi dew, changed by the magic influence of the moonbeams into the lustrous gem which was thereafter jealously treasured by tho oyster within the folds of its soft body. Madge, Maggie and May.~-Aa m many other cases, the name did notbecome widely popular until it had been adopted by an early martyr—tho St Margarite of Antioch, who miraculously escaped from a dragon which had swallowed her. In the British Isles the name was first introduced into Scotland; it also became popular -*n the north of England, bub was rarelv found among the peasantry of the south. Among its many variations, the most widely adopted are Maggy, Madge, Peggy, Maisie, May, Meg. Marjorie, the French Margot, and the German Gretchen. Mattress Stuffing.—-When stuffing mattresses it is well to see that the corners are well filled; it is usual to place a ball of stuffing in each. A cheap and healthy stuffing for mattresses is Algerian fibre, while a very usual one is a mixture of horsehair (one third) and rugging (two thuds) ; this is springy and not liable to form into lumps. The mattress may be tufted or buttoned; this is quite a simple process. Bring up the long needle, threaded with mattress twine, f’om the lower part of the mattress and through one of the places marked for tufting, and then pass it back, leaving ti loop in which to insert the leather button. Be sure the buttons are clean, and put them in ona at a time. Learn to Talk Well.—Usually a girl finds she can talk well enough to her own sox, but she knows instinctively that the same subjects would not be likely to interest a grown man. She racks her brain for some topic of conversation, and is desperately conscious of silent pauses. Every minute seems an hour! She wants to make herself interesting, and is afraid that, if she does not say something quickly, the man will think her dull. Often in despair the girl says something silly or resorts to what is known as drivelling, which will probably bore her listener a-s much as her silence. Certainly it will give him the impression that she has nothing in her. Train the Voice. —And referring to the matter of conversation, let me ask my younger readers tio train their voices to be musical. Even the ugliest ca-n be improved, and it is a pity that it is not generally recognised how many voices require training. They only get it, as a rule, when the speaker wishes to perform in public; other people go on in the usual way, telephoning, talking, using their wrong vocal chords all the time, making ugly noises when they could make pleasant ones. Be Attractive. —Voice production of course, the cure, but a great deal can be done by common sense. Tho most usual offender is the squeaker who uses her top notes all the time. If you find yourself doing this—and many of us got up rather high in moments of excitement —do a few simple exercises, on the piano. Start somewhere about middle C and singing te All ” to each sustained note go as far down the scale as you can. You will find that later your voice will gradually get lower. Toast for Baby’s Teeth. —ShouiJ little bubs bo under eighteen months he is better without much bread-and-butter-—soft bread-and-butter, that i-. A piece of crisp toast with a littlebutter. or a rusk is good to teach them to use their littlp new teeth, still with so much to learn if theyb e to l.o* a blessing and not a trial to baby when lie grows older. Teach Babies to Eat Properly.— It i* quite a mistake to give young children too much bread-and-milk or always to Aoak their, rusks in milk, as so many mothers will. They get into the habit of swallowing their food without chewing it. Later on you have to scold them endlessly for <£ bolting.” But really it’s you who first taught them to do it. Give baby dry food to bite, and let him sip his milk. Baby’s Breakfast.—Nothing beyond plenty of milk and an occasional rusk if* needed by babies up to a year old, so far as breakfast and tea are concerned. At “dinner” you can give him a little baked custard, or tho yolk of an egg beaten up with sugar in warm milk, or some good gravy from the joint. After this he could have some baked apple or stewed prune pulp. It is unwise to give potatoes just yet.