WOMAN'S WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 272, 7 April 1911, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD

(Conducted by "Eileen"). NOTES FROM LONDON. London, February 17. The first liarcm skirts made their appearance in Paris on Sunday last, when they were worn 'by two stylish mannequins on the Boulevards, who daringly challenged public opinion by donning the jupeealotte, which consists of baggy trousers of light, delicate material, caught at the ankles. The pioneers were quickly surrounded by a crowd of people, shouting and laughing and impeding their progress, and were finally obliged to seek refuge in a tea shop in the Boulevard Bonne and Xouvelle. The crowd rapidly increased in number in the hope of seeing the audacious mannequins when they left the shop. It was dark, however, when they dared to face the 300 people still outside, and then they were only able to reach a motor-cab by the aid of, ten policemen. MAGAZINE FOR THE BLIND. A magazine tor the blind has just been published by the British and Foreign Blind Association, and it is called the "Braille Literary Journal." It contains original contributions, as well as articles selected from such sources as, the Times, the Nineteenth Century and After, the National Review, the Cornhill and Chambers' Journal. A GOOD SCHEME. Mrs. Kendal, the much-beloved veteran actress, was Que of the speakers at an "at home" given last week by the Dowager Countess of Desart in aid of the Educated Women Workers' Loan Training Fund, and there made the suggestion that, instead of giving donations, ladies should lend certain sums of money to the institution for .three, four or five years. The total would be put in a bank, interest would be obtained on it, and at the end of five years those who had lent it could ask for its return. This suggestion, Mrs. Kendal explained, she made in order to enable the gentlewomen of England who might be in need of a loan from the fund to feel thoroughly independent. WOMAN'S HEROISM. Signorina Buttironi, a schoolmistress, is to be decorated by the Italian Government for her great devotion in sacrificing six inches of her own skin to be grafted on a pupil who had been badly injured. WOMEN HORSE - BREEDERS. In view of the increasing number of women horse-breeders, as shown by the stud-booka and the prizes won at shows, the Board of Agriculture proposes to ask its Parliamentary Secretary in Parliament whether the Board will allow women to becom* members of 'the new county horse-aupply association. GREAT WOMAN GARDENER. The success uim can De attained by a woman "ardencr is well exemplified in the case of Mks Hemus, a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society and a very well-known Indy gardener. At Holdfast Hall, in Worcestershire, under her own control, Mis* Her-'* has the largest swre.t-pca yr.-den in the world, and'some of her views on the "invention" and cave of flowers are set forth by an interviewer in the Daily Mail this week, and may interest .New Zealand gardeners. "All my seeds," Miss Hemus explained, "are saved from plants that have been sown in the autumn and have stood the winter in an open field. Also, the seeds are never touched by machinery, the work being wholly done by hand". This is not the ease with foreign-growing seed, much of which is sold in England. A great deal of what success I have attained is more than anything due to the most merciless destruction. Every season I destroy miles of sweet peas, not because they have not given magnificent blooms, but because the stocks are not true, or because perhaps one stock of a hundred or so separate plant cultures has proved a slightly cleaner color or a trifle better in form. There is no room for anything but the best. Another reason of my success is the immese scale upon which I work for the production of new and more beautiful colors and types. Every inch of my ground is given up to mv own varieties and new types which are eiiherin their first, second, third or fourth generation from the cross. I rarely grow stock after the fifth generation, n's by this time it is usually found that the stock is in some way beginning to show signs of deterioration (generally by reversion to the grandifiora type), and it is safer to replace it by one with the increased vigor of the hybrid. It is, of course necessary sometimes to wait for results ,and three or five years are necessary for the raising and fixing of a new variety. My aim for the future are all in the direction of clearer, cleaner and more brilliant colors. Form is an attribute one can never lose sight of, and size of blossom is also important, but I place color before anything else." A DUTCH CHOIR. I A famous Dutch choir will arrive in I London in a day or two to fill an engagement at the London Hippodrome, beginning on Monday. There are fortytwo voices, and these comprise a large proportion of the adults of the village of Wognum. If, is headed by the mayor, who has also the support of the other representative of law and order, in the person of the village policeman. Other members of the choir are the sexton, the baker, the undertaker, • the. keeper of the village stores, the chimney sweep, the blacksmith, milkmaids, and farm laborers. ANOTHER GREAT SCIENTIST. Mrs. Ayrton, the famous woman scientist, has received an invitation from the Soeiete de Physique to show her experiments on sand ripples and the motion of water. As this society holds a very high position in tlie scientific world, this represents yet one more honor justly paid to the only woman member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. WOMEN'S HEALTH. A scheme is on foot for holding an Imperial Health Congress in commemoration of Queen Mary's Coronation. The health of women and children is to be the main subject of the Congress, which is being arranged by the Women's Health Association. Many colonial representa- . fives in London have promised their sup- • port, and it is intended that "the special '. problems of each colony," will be eon- ] sidered. , •

A WOMAN PROFESSOR, j Mdlle. Andre, said to be the first woI man to whom such an honor has been accorded, has been appointed to a professorial chair in the Catholic Institute of France. LEGLESS HUSBAND. - SWEETHEART WHEELED HIM TO i THE WEDDING. Her love undiminished by the fact that ; her betrothed is now legless, Anna Reilly, ■ a pretty brunette, of Pittsburg, U.S.A., ; wheeled Robert Meyers into the office of - Alderman Melnemey a few weeks ago • | and blushingly whispered, "Alderman, we ■ want to get married." Calling into his office some workmen [ from the street, the alderman went ■ through the ceremony with the clay- • covered workmen as witnesses and at- ■ tendants. Then the girl wheeled her , husband back to their little home. : Meyers was a railway employee, anfi lost both legs in an accident last Februa- ;' ary. He had known his wife for, two years, but they 'were not engaged until after the accident. A NEW PROFESSION. [ Mrs. Caroline Bartlett Crane was recently summoned by the State authorii ties of Minnesota to overlook its annual i house cleaning. A year ago she houseI cleaned twelve cities of Kentucky, spending five weeks at the ta.sk. Mrs. Crane became interested in civic reform as a preacher in Kalamazoo. She gave up her pastorate after a while, and went to work for the Women's Civil Improvement League, when her public housecleaning began in earnest. The streets of her own town were the first attacked. They were dirty; something must be wrong with the system. She therefore made it her business to study the meth- , ods of other cities, and the system she was the means of introducing was carried out so thoroughly that Kalamazoo became famous as the spotless town of these regions. Streets, backyards and ' slaughterhouses were each attacked in turn, and many reforms started. Thus Mrs. Crane's fame spread, and soon other cities wanted her. WOMAN AND WIRELESS. Miss Graynu>.i Packer is the first wo- , man to. operate wireless on board an ocean-going steamer. She is in charge | of the wireless room on the Clyde Line steamer Mohawk. The operator has to sleep by the instrument, in order to ! hear the faintest sound, and is constant- : ly on duty while on board. An inter- , viewer reports Miss Packer as having : said: "You know that there is a code . of honor among wireb'ss operators that, . come what mnv. you must stick to your • post. No matter what the danger Is, the operator must remain at her table to send and receive messages. Of course, I hope there will never be occasion to : send a 'CQD' call for help, but I don't [ believe I will fail in my duty if that . time does come." It is stated that if ■ the experiment should prove satisfactory ; the line will engage more women operi ators. A PLUCKY WOMAN. • | A white woman recently showed im- • mense pluck in rescuing a negro from 'j lynching. The negro, accused of burgi | lary. had been arrested, but broke away, ' [ and. running through the main street of II Eaton, Georgia, with an excited mob in • pursuit, he fell exhausted at the feet of ; Mrs. Susie Hillhouse in front of her s home. Mrs. Hillhouse took a pistol from F his hand, faced the crowd, and, declaring I there would be jio lynching this time, ; threatened to shoot the first man who s touched him. Her courage was vigorous- > ly cheered, and having extracted a pro- ■ mise that the man should not be injured, ; Mrs. Hillhouse allowed the mob to take • the negro to prison, accompanying him [ personally to see that the promise was [ kept. FEMININSM IN FRANCE. Feminism in France is making tremendous strides. At the Brussels Exhibition Mdme. Paquin, who had been nominated a member of the jury, has been elected vice-president of the Sydnical Chamber of Dressmaking. It is the first time that a woman has been appointed to the Chamber. Mdme. Paquin bravely put up as candidate, although apparently she had little chance of winning, but she considered it her duty for the sake of the women's cause to do her best. It is courage such as this which is making the iray easier for other women.