WOMAN’S WORLD.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 September 1922, Page 10

WOMAN’S WORLD.

ENGLISH"FASHIONS. The “Gentlewoman" “spreads herself” in au extended talk about fashions for Going North—otherwise to Scotland, and these fashions fortunately are in tune with the requirements of New Zealanders who are contemplating country trips in the near future, or are going to betake themselves to seaside residences. Fashion, says the writer, makes no autocratic demands of us, but throws aside all the fanciful whims and moods with which she concealed herself in London. and declares herself honestly for practical simplicity. Low-heeled shoes, loose, comfortable suits, tweed materials that do not spoil in rain or sun, and hats that demand no umbrella to protect their beauties —what more can she grant or we desire? Reversible leather capes lined with tweed are a novelty for this season. They are particularly useful and attractiee, as they can be worn with or without the coat of the costume, being complete as- either a four or a three-piece garment. The capes are simply made, and being reversible are quite showerproof when worn with the leather outside. Leather jerkins and waistcoats are also fashionable, their wind-proof qualities making them invaluable to those who are devoted to fishing and shooting. Among other leather uses are clever arrangements of patchwork designs for leather hats, or embossed leather for toques; for fashion, even in her simplicity, is ingenious. It is a forgivable habit, but it does allow the woman of taste to gratify her personal desire for unusual things. There is never any drastic difference in tweed- fashions—mild variations with pockets, belts, and collars, represent the gamut of change. A tweed walking skirt has been invented which appears very narrow, but which is really most comfortable to walk in, being seamed no lower than the pocket on the left side, and then allowed to blow, free over the wide wrap which reaches to the opposite side, practically making the skirt front of double material. Shirts are longer, even tweed skirts, so wrap idea is quite useful. Belts have returned to favour. Last year there was an attempt to make tweed suits beltless, but the notion did not become popular, and after much discussion the Norfolk mode has been restored to favour. A smart tweed suit was shown the other day, somewhat like the walking suit. It was a kind of modified Norfolk design, with tightlystitched seams, long revers, and low leather belt, because even Norfolk siiits are inconsistent with their waist-lines and vary them with the fashion.

The latest brogues button. The strap is broad, and sometimes needs two buttons to hold it fastened. They are really smart, almost chic, and the suede leather effect is novel. Stocking's are now made to imitate home-spun materials, and can be smooth or brushed. Scotch plaid stockings have been greatly improved in design and benutv. and now you can buy your plaid stockings, scarf, gloves, and hats, all to match'. A really pretty notion for varying the appearance of a simple tweed suit. Other hats of tweed to match the cape, coat, or suit, are improved by the new feather mounts. Burberry's have some made in very gay and lovely colours, and of all natural colourings and feathers, being the plumage of parrots, pheasants, peacocks, etc., even the homely cockerel feathers finding a p'aee in the scheme. LOVELY SUMMER COLOURING. The notable dressmakers have found a text, that pleases them greatly in organdi and broderie anglaise. writes the fashion expert of the “Tattler." The former material to-day is submitted to a process which prevents it becoming easily crushed, while a new form of decoration is decoupee embroidery. A pale blue organdi frock will be accompanied by a grass-green silk burreau. there is a waistcoat or yoke of this embroidery. All the fullness of the skirt centres itself on the hips, where it is finished with veritable cascades of narrow shot ribbons. Any douibts there may have been about the charm of coloured broderie anglaise are completely set at rest by those that have recently made their debut. The curious part about them is that the skirts are very long and full, while the corsages are cut on Stuart lines. Very lovely, too, are the frocks of Maderia work enriched with fine Valenciennes lace and delicate stitchery; as a matter of fact, they compare’more than favourably with the fabricating medium of the Royal christening robes. No summer frock is considered complete without its sash or cascade of ribbons, which must match those that appear on the hat. VOILE AND SPONGE CLOTH. Voile is another material that is being mployed for garden-party frocks, as well as for those for morning wear in town and country. The younger woman is having them made with Marie Antoinette fichu, and with them is wearing large white felt hats decorated with a scarf. The woman with a tendency to embonpoint knows the value of long lines, so she has a straight fourreau accompanied with a sleeveless coat overdress, often hemmed with silk. There are many varieties of sponge cloth this season; it is much lighter in weight —as a matter of fact, it suggests •a canvas. Coarse wool embroidery is frequently requisitioned for the adornment of the same. There is really ! nothing better for tennis, although some 1 may prefer frocks of Wimbledon pique, ; which are obtainable at small prices. THE SUMMER WRAP. There are many chilly evenings, especially by the sea, so no apology is necessary for drawing attention to the pretty decorative wraps of cut velour which is velour treated to suggest a wide rib. with collars of brushed wool. Again, there are knitted wraps of the burnous persuasion, which come just below the waist, and are hemmed on one side only with brushed wool. There are many varieties of capes with slots, through which the arms may be passed. Furthermore, the sportswoman must make a point of Seeing the jumper and other suits made bv the peasants of the Fair Islands, with capes to match. HOW TO REVIVE CUT FLOWERS. | Everybody knows that if a drooping I flower is put with its stem in water, in 'a- short time it will revive. The flower I seems to he able to suck the water up through its stem, and thus, so to speak. 'to quench its thirst. When a, human; 1 feeing or animal sucks up water, the sue ■

tion is produced by a muscular contraction of the mouth, causing a vacuum, into which the water steadily runs? but the flower has no muscular means of creating a vacuum, and it must depend upon some supply of water. This property, curiously enough, has nothing whatever to do with the actual structure of the plant, says Mr. L. W. Martinnant, in “Everyday Science”; it is a physical mechanism to which nature has adapted all forms of vegetable life. Forty-five years ago it was discovered that “if strong solutions of various chemicals were separated from weak solution/ of other chemicals by means of a speciallyprepared tissue or membrane, the water from the weaker solution invariably forced its way through the membrane, and continued to do so until the strengths of the solutions on either side had become equal. It is exactly this action which takes place when, the drooping flower is placed in water. The flower is composed of numerous cells, each of which contains sap, and each of which is surrounded by a skin, or membrane, possessing the peculiar properties described aboVe. Now, the cell-sap is a strong solution of organic chemicals. When the flower has been cut for any length of time, the evaporation of its moisture tends to increase the strength of the sap solution, and, incidentally, to decrease the size of the cells, and to cause the flower to droop. Directly the stem is placed in water the latter, being a very weak solution, is forced through the cell membranes in the attempt to reduce the strength of the sap solution, and so enters the flower. The result is obvious. The cells nearest the water become distended; they pass the surplus water to those above them, until finally all the cells are filled to their capacity, and the flower stands upright again. MARRIAGE INSURANCE. NEW SCHEME FOR WOMEN.

A marriage insurance policy for women sounds attractive, and this in effect is what the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows has decided upon, says the London Daily Telegraph. The principle of the marriage dot is more common in France than in this country, but there are advantages in having a solid sum with which to set up housekeeping, even if it be not very big. Among the industrial classes, for which such benefit societies as the Manchester Unity principally cater, it is found that woman have an objection to take out a policy covering sickness up to the age of 70, and an annuity for the remainder of life. To meet this, it is proposed that after membership of fhe society for three complete years there should be a surrender value attached to the policy which would be payable on marriage and thus provide a sort of marriage bonus for women. The scheme has attractions which should make it popular, but in all such cases, the actuary steps in to make sure that the proposals are sound, and it may be that when worked out the premium may be rather stiffer. Theoretically every sickness insurance policy should have a surrender value in its early years, because a, reserve has to be built up to meet the heavier claims in later life. As was pointed out by one delegate at the Manchester Unity Congress, sickly members might refuse to accept the surrender value on marriage, while the healthy would, and the actuarial basis might be upset. Another delegate with this view urged that the acceptance of the surrender value on marriage should be made compulsory. It will take time to work out the details of the scheme, but when they are put forward they should be worthy of careful examination. In other quarters there are already in existence policies which provide benefits when a woman marries. The Prudential Insurance Company has a deferred annuity policy for women which carries with it a bonus on marriage. For instance, if a woman of 20 years insures for a premium of £2 every second month, she would get after five years a bonus of £3O on marriage, and, at the same time, she can continue paying the premium until the end of the selected term, and then either secure a cash payment or an annuity, as she chooses.

DOCTOR’S HINTS ON COOKERY. Dr. Frederick William Alexander, medical officer for Poplar, in a report on “A Possible Cause and Prevention ' of Malignant Disease,” gives what should prove to be very valuable hints to the housewife. The present-day method of cooking vegetables by boiling, declares the doctor. deprives them of the valuable salts they contain. All vegetables which require cooking should, therefore, lie cooked by steaming. An ordinary double saucepan might be used, or the vegetables could be cooked in the usual way, using only a little water, and saving the liquor afterwards to make a vegetable soup Vegetabde soups should be made from a stock composed of the water in which all vegetables, including potatoes, have been boiled, added to, day by day kept hot 1 , and allowed to evaporate; a portion is each day thickened as desired with barley, rice, farina, sago, vermicelli, and chopped vegetables. Stock made with vegetables contains all the salts and other valuable extracts of the vegetables which are commonly thrown away, to the great detriment of proper nutrition. The United States Agriculture Experiment Bureau states 1 (hat “30 per cont. of the nutritive value of potatoes is ordinarily wasted by the common method of boiling and cooking them.” There is no doubt, says Dr. Alexander, that the cooking of potatoes by steam is the best, and a potato steamer should be obtained for this purpose. Before steaming, wash potatoes well in clean cold water, but do not let them remain in it for more than ten minutes; otherwise if standing in cold water for hours they will lose much of their goodness and become waxy instead of floury after cooking. It is desirable to eat the skin of potatoes. either steamed, baked or boiled. The normal adult should eat (chewing well) the skins of apples, pears, prunes, greengages. gooseberries, and grapes. Through evaporation of the fluid of fruit the salts become concentrated at the J skins. BROKEN HEARTS. ! Modern science claims to have proved conclusively that a broken heart is a ph vsirsl impossibility. The brain, not the heart, is the centre , -a' feeling. All the time-worn expres-

sions, so. dear to romance, of loving with; the heart, believing -with the heart, and’ trusting with the heart, ane purely figures of speech without foundations in anatomical facts. Nevertheless, they stand for sensations which are intensely real to those who experience them. “Men and women have died, and worms have eaten them,” and all for love. Again and again the story is told of murder or suicide directly. traceable to disappointment in love, or, perhaps, to wounded vanity, which is an excellent cbtmterfeit. - Also even more frequently, men and women, physically or mentally weak, work themselves into a premature grave because the course of their love^-fefuses to run -smoothly- • Hut these are exceptional : cases! Broken hearts are; as a rule,: faY easier to mend’Than broken ' chmi.; The True philosopher falls in and <su£ .of .i&vfc with comparative, 'edmppsute; fltidixig a pleasurabfe. c-> citeth.erit uj; and feeing a gentle pity for’ th ©.“misguided object who” does not “gjipreciatie his affection and his.yirtues. Next to-'the philosophy, refuses tq worry., over what cannot helped, the surest cure for. a. broken -heart ->ie. homoepathic in principle.. Like cure» Hk». If in love, with some: cirarm* ing woman or masterful man who will have none. of. you, make haste to fail in love as. speedily as possible with sup other Who will have the good taste to return your affection. ’ •>’ --*• Love, from whatever source it may come, is the most soothing salve for a heart aching from the pangs of unrequited aueetion, still more when the smart is that of wounded. Vanity, if the application fails to heal the Hurt, it is almost certain to alleviate the pain! -Christian Science and Couefsin are admirably adapted as a remedy’ for brokeiv hearts. If you can succeed in persuading the victim of unrequited love that her heartache has no existence outside her imagination your work is done and the cure is complete. The trouble being purely mental,, ceases to exist the moment the mind of the sufferer denies its reality, and the episode is as though it had never -been. In those rare casee; in which the anguish of what the world in all ages has recognised as a broken heart is persistent, the most efficacious, indeed the only, remedy, is work. - If you have no need to work for yourself, work for others, which is stil| better. Throw yourself body and brain into that work. Labour until your toil brings physical and mental exhaustion in a degree which will prevent you from lying awake in the night watches to torture yourself with visions of what might have been: E.M.W. in London Daily Mail.

KISSED BY PIRATES. WOMEN PASSENGERS’ ORDEAL. Seven Georgians, short, dark-visaged men with long hair and ragged clothes, have (says a Paris message) been brought to trial by an extraordinary Levant Court sitting at Aix-en-Province.. near Marseilles,, for piracy.. This Levant Court dates back, to, the time when the Sultan of Turkey allowed -French Courts to have jurisdiction over crimes committed in the Levant. Altogether thirty pirates, disguised as passengers, were on board the French liner Souirah, 2839 tons, . which left Batum, in the Black Sea> for Marseilles on May 6, 1920,- with 400 passengers. About two hours after the ship left the gang threatened the captain and wireless operators with revolvers, put the wireless apparatus out of action, and robbed the passengers, who were compelled to open their trunks. The leaders, who wore masks, kissed the hands of the women before taking their rings, and left the passengers with small change, even giving some of them a few coins stolen from others. The pirates next compelled the captain to stop the fillip and forced the crew to put them and their plunder ashore. Their haul amounted to £BO,OOO. The men on trial are alleged to be members of the gang.

WHERE HAPPINESS IS FOUND. In friendship. In good thoughts. Ip helping others. In friendly letters.; - In pleasant words. ■ «•; In little kindnesses. In social intercourse. . In work that we love: In mutual confidences. In cultivating the mind. Tn healthful recreation. In making others happy. In doing duty cheerfully. In facing life with a smile. In achievirig worthy ambitions. In the companionship of books. In doing one’s best regardless of reward.

The last few years have been, in. some respects, a time of disillusionment for women,. who have been making the painful discovery that many of the doors which were open so readily to them in the war period are being firmly pushed to again under peace-time conditions, says a London correspondent in an exchange. However, “festina lente” is a very good motto, and progress is perhaps not so slow as it seems.. Thus Miss A. M. Coote, a young woman of 21, was the only woman wrangler at Cambridge this year. Miss Coote proves that domesticity can go hand in hand with a mathematical bias. She can cook, wash, and make and mend clothes for her small brothers and sisters. Their success is legal, and other achievements in scholarship can also be cited in proof of the great advance which women have made in the fields of science, law, research, and commerce. Another woman pioneer is Miss. Peggy Foxw.ell, of Girton College, who has obtained a firstclass in the difficult mechanical sciences tripos at Cambridge. Miss Foxwtell hopes to be able to take up engineering. It is a great. achievement for a girl of sixteen to be appointed deputy organist at a famous London church, which honour has fallen to Miss Aileen. Bransden. Miss Bransden is also to act as deputy organist to Sir Frederick Bridge at Westminster Abbey. A party of four Australian ladies, who may be said to have visited every town of 1000 people in New Zealand and Australia, declare that in regard to the comforts of life we are 50 years ahead of them (states the Manawatu Daily Times). Our hotels everywhere are incomparably better. Over there, except in the very largest cities, they have no drainage system, water supply, or electric light or hot baths, frequently not even a cold one in that dusty land. Here most villages and many countrv bo>i«es have all these decencies of life.