LET THEM SUGGEST A "SHAPE"

New Zealand Listener, Volume 1, Issue 9, 25 August 1939, Page 11

LET THEM SUGGEST A "SHAPE"

This is surely the country for Iceland Poppiesand the season. Nowhere have I seen such width and loveliness of bloom, such length and delicacy of stem. They are a challenge to the woman with the artistic eye. Their. arrangement can be inspired, or it can be merely an unhappy accident, Some hostesses can load their rooms with expensive flowers, bunched symmetrically into expensive vases and consider their duty done more than well, They would be surprised if any discerning guest expressed resentment. But the fact is you must let the poppy have its waylet them indicate the "shape" they wish to make, and rest assured it will be artistic. If you analyse the charming arrangement in the photographic study you will admit that they fall with a "naturalness" that is their own. Draw an imagined line with your eye from point to point round the "shape" they make, including their shadows on the

wall. You have to admit it is more interesting than the popular circle. The bowl, though quite inexpensive, is a happy choice. It is not round, it is the very shape of a poppy bud. In this case, it is the pale green of the stems, set against a putty-grey wall.

W.

V.

Know Your Pet Have you ever wondered why a parrot will sometimes pluck his own feathers until he looks a veritable scarecrow and has made his skin very sore into the bargain? There are two reasons. One is that he’s positively ravenous for a little meat to suck, and is forced to try the ends of his own quills. The other is that he has nothing better to do! A tiny lump of fresh beef suet, about as big as a walnut, placed in his cage every day will soon cure him. And as for playthings, he likes nothing better than a string of old cotton-

reels hanging from his roof.

B.

J.