Nos. 114, 115. WORK BASKET, ORNAMENTED WITH EMBROIDERY.

The basket itself is of a pretty light pattern in osier work, the stand and handle being of polished cane. The interior is lined with lilac taffetas, and has round the edge a vandyked ruching of the same material. At each side of the basket is a pocket made of two folds of taffetas, with an inner lining of stiff muslin. The basket is further ornamented with two strips of white cloth, vandyked, and placed crosswise, as our Illustration shows. Each strip has an embroidery of feather stitch in fawn-coloured silk, and a wreath of violets, worked with violet and shaded green silk, in satin, overcast, and feather stitch.

No. 116. EMBROIDERED BORDER FOR BASKETS, ETC.

The border itself consists of a strip of pale brown cloth, slightly scalloped, and edged on each side with vandykes of the same material in a darker shade. The embroidery is worked with two shades of brown silk, in satin, overcast, and chain stitch. The gold cord is sewn on with black silk.

No. 117. BORDER IN MUSLIN APPLIQUE FOR CURTAINS, ETC.

For this border procure some good Brussels net, and then trace the design on fine mull muslin; tack it very evenly on the net, and work over all the outlines with soft cotton in buttonhole stitch. After the work is complete, cut away the muslin, as shown in Illustration.

No. 118. DESIGN IN NETTING AND DARNING FOR ANTIMACASSARS, ETC.

First make a square of straight netting for the article required; then darn it from Illustration, and finish off with a deep fringe. This design might also be worked in crochet thus for the open part make 2 chain, I treble, taking care to keep the holes over each other; the thick parts should be treble stitched, allowing 3 trebles for each square.

A very graceful mazurka, easy and unpretending; the melody is pretty and tuneful, and the time well marked.

"May-day," tarentelle by Charles Joseph Frost. (Novello, Ewer, and Co., 1, Berners Street, W., and C. J. Frost, 2, Newton Terrace, Lee, S.E.)

A brilliant composition, well worthy of the amount of practice and care required to make it thoroughly effective; it has the genuine entrain of a tarentelle, and is not wanting in originality.

"The Wish," romance for the pianoforte, by Richard Harvey. (A. Hammond and Co., 5, Vigo Street, Regent Street, W.).

The melody of this romance is tuneful, and the presence of a passage in octaves, and some arpeggio practice, make it a good school-room piece for moderately advanced pupils.

"Die Sibelle," idylle, by Gustave Lange. (A. Hammond and Co., 5, Vigo Street, Regent Street, W.)

A melodious and graceful little piece, with no great claim to originality, but suited to young performers, who will probably approve of it.

HESE beautiful ball-room flowers are generally cultivated under cover, but there is no reason why they should not be made ornaments of the open garden. Writing in "The Gardener's Magazine," Mr. George Gordon assures those who may be desirous of growing Camellias out of doors that they have practically nothing to fear from the frost. But there is another difficulty to face in the destruction of the flowers by heavy rains, or an excessive humidity in the atmosphere. The greatest injury is, as a rule, done to the flowers in seasons remarkable by the absence of severe frosts. The mild weather experienced at midwinter induces them to bloom a month or six weeks in advance of the usual time, and the flowers are in consequence exposed to the adverse influences of the storms of the end of February, the whole of March, and the beginning of April. In wet stormy seasons the blooms suffer even when only partly expanded, and the white flowers, which-need it be said? -are of the highest value, are injured the most quickly. Now, the principal objection that could be urged against the cultivation of the Camellia out of doors has been pointed out, but it ought not to materially influence those who contemplate forming a plantation. Whether furnished with flowers or not, the Camellia is one of the handsomest of evergreens, and if they fail to bloom occasionally, there will be a feeling of disappointment, but nothing more. The general appearance of the bed will not be impaired, and the rich dark-green leafage will still continue to afford pleasure to the eye, in precisely the same manner as those evergreens which, so far as the beauty of the bloom is concerned, may be described as flowerless. On the other hand, in seasons when the flowers are fully developed, the result will be a display of colour of surpassing richness-a display, in fact, which could only be produced in structures large enough to admit of their being planted out; for to produce so fine a display of flowers with plants grown in pots is practically impossible. The only difficulty worthy of attention is really by no means great, and in the course of a few years hence it is possible that the outdoor cultivation of Camellias may become of some importance. They are especially adapted for associating with the choicer Japanese plants on the score of their fitness and beauty; and in the formation of Japanese gardens, which promise to become somewhat popular, they should be largely employed. In a sheltered situation in any of the western and midland counties, such as is required for the majority of the fine shrubs we have received from Japan, they would thrive amazingly, and in most seasons would produce a profusion of flowers, a result especially desirable in the case of the camellia.

To ensure the highest degree of success in the culti vation of Camellias in the open air, it is needful to select

a rather sheltered situation, a well-drained friable soil, and to put out strong plants. If a rather large number of plants are available for turning out, they may be planted in prominent positions in the shrubbery border; but in the case of a small number-twenty or thirty, for example-the best course will be to plant them in a position well sheltered but rather prominent; for it is not desirable to plant Camellias where they will not be readily seen, for, unlike roses and some other flowers, they are by no means wanting in attractiveness when out of bloom, Camellias will well repay liberal encouragement; and, in the formation of a bed expressly for them, the soil should be excavated to a depth of between two and three feet, according to the character of the subsoil, and replaced with a mixture consisting of two parts turfy loam and one part fibrous peat. If peat is difficult to procure, it may be dispensed with altogether by taking the loam from the surface to ensure its being full of fibrous matter. The most suitable stage at which to plant them out is, undoubtedly, just as the flower-buds are set; the new growth is then completed, and the wood has become firm, whilst there is plenty of time remaining for them to become well established before vegetation is brought to a standstill by the cold weather. When newly planted they should have rather liberal supplies of water, and an occasional sprinkling overhead in the evening, toafford them every encouragement to become established quickly.

In subsequent years the management will be of the simplest character, as all they will require will be a thorough soaking of water occasionally in dry weather, when making their new growth. To keep the roots cool in hot weather, and to prevent the rapid evaporation of the moisture from the soil, cover the surface of the bed early in the spring with about six inches of partly-decayed manure. In the winter the roots and the lower part of the stems may be most efficiently protected by covering the beds with about twelve inches or so of dry litter or leaves, and a little soil to hide the covering materials. They will require no pruning beyond the shortening back of shoots that grow too freely, and promise in course of time to spoil the contour of the plant.

It now remains to be said that single specimens may with advantage be planted to train over the walls of dwelling houses, for there are no plants suitable for the same purpose that will compare with them in neatness and in the richness of the foliage, and when in bloom they are quite unsurpassed. Until they nearly fill the space allotted to them, the best results will be obtained by training them to the wall, and then allowing them to grow out naturally to a distance about two feet from it. They can then be kept in order by a judicious use of the pruning knife.

IN N the opinion of many of our younger readers, no doubt, the theatres form the most attractive feature among the delights of Christmas time-a visit to one or more pantomimes is, in their eyes, a necessary part of the business of the season. It is a remark which has often been made, but it will bear repeating, nevertheless, it is so true, that the prettiest sight in the theatre at Christmas time is not the spectacle on the stage, but the rows of bright young faces that beam with pleasure from every part of the house; while the most musical sounds are the silvery little peals of laughter at the comicalities of the funny man in the opening, or the droll antics of the clown in the harlequinade. This year our young friends have a perfect embarras de richesses to select from; and wherever they go, they will not be disappointed, so good all round are the pantomimes and theatrical entertainments this season.

Covent Garden leads off with a grand spectacular pantomime upon the old nursery story, so dear to the children, of "The Babes in the Wood," which has been written by Mr. Charles Rice, who is again the lessee and manager. Mr. Rice has evidently seen that the great strength of a pantomime at Covent Garden must be in the spectacular effects, for which the splendid appliances and enormous extent of the stage give special facilities. The old story is, of course, not very closely adhered to; however, there are the children: the boy charmingly played by little Nelly Groves, who was such a favourite last year with everybody in the character of Little Red Riding Hood; and the wicked uncle, who has, if possible, a more wicked retainer, kept to do all his dirty work; and there are the father and mother, who do not die at the beginning of the piece, as they do in the ballad, but live long enough to give a gorgeous Christmas entertainment in their baronial hall, where the revelry is of a most elaborate character; then there is the fight between the would-be murderer and the children's protector; and finally, the robins so that, at all events, most of the materials of the old story are kept. While, in addition, the wicked uncle takes up his abode for the night in a huge bed-room occupied by the Big Bed of Ware, which turns out a veritable chamber of horrors. The transformation-scene that follows this is one of the most brilliant ever seen: a combination of golden fern-fronds and fairy forms, surrounding the two children, still attended by the faithful robins, who form the centre of the picture. The harlequinade that follows is hardly up to the average; but considerable fun is got out of a train bound for Ashantee, and containing all the latest contrivances. Mr. Hicks' scenery is very charming throughout, especially the transformation-scene; the ballet scene, which takes place in a wood in winter, and the scene

of the childrens' wanderings; though we may remark, en passant, that blackberries are not usually found upon snow-covered brambles. The scene of the revels is a triumph of management, and the army of small children go through their complicated evolutions in a style that is perfectly surprising. The Covent Garden pantomime is emphatically a thing to see.

The Drury Lane pantomime, "Aladdin; or the Wonderful Lamp," depends for its success almost entirely upon the exertions of the Vokes family, who have returned from a most successful tour in America to the scene of their former triumphs, funnier and more versatile than ever. In fact, with the exception of Miss Harriet Coveney, who plays the Widow Ching, Aladdin's mother, with her wonted cleverness, the Vokese are the pantomime. Mr. Fred. Vokes, as the Magician, seems even more flexible than ever, and is ably supported by Mr. Walter Vokes, who enacts the part of the Magician's man. Mr. Fred. Vokes' pigtail, and the antics he plays with it, will long be remembered. The ladies of the little party are as good as they can be. Miss Victoria Vokes makes a capital Aladdin. Miss Rosina displays all her well-known liveliness and abandon as the Princess Badroulbadour; and Miss Jessie Vokes is a most agile and graceful genie of the lamp. The scenery is, as usual, by Mr. Beverley, and as a matter of course, is beautiful in the extreme; the most effective scene being the interior of the magic cavern, with a ballet of jewels of remarkable brilliance. The transformation-scene is also very pretty and ingenious, and thoroughly in keeping with the general Chinese character of the opening. There is, according to Mr. Chatterton's general custom, a double troupe of pantomimists.

"Beauty and the Beast" is the pantomime at the Princess's; the chief attraction here being Miss Kate Vaughan, who takes the part of Beauty. With the exception of the small part of Flibbertigibbet in "Kenil worth," which she played with peculiar grace at Drury Lane last spring, this talented young lady has hitherto been known only as an eccentric dancer. She has certainly proved herself worthy of something better. She acts most intelligently, and speaks her lines well and clearly. Mr. Belmore, one of the most versatile actors on the stage, appears as Beauty's father; and the

famous "Little " Rowella is the clown.

One of the most amusing of this season's pantomimes is "The Children in the Wood" at the Adelphi, the opening of which is full of humour. The story is treated very differently from the Covent Garden version, and our young friends will have to decide which they like best. The children are capitally played by Miss Amelia and Miss Violet Cameron; and Mr. James Fawn