THE LADIES’ WORLD.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2546, 6 July 1909, Page 3

THE LADIES’ WORLD.

TABLE DECORATIONS. SOME OF THE NEWEST DESIGNS The day of elaborate table decorations has .passed aAvay, and now simplicity is ther: popular note. In America , the table still lingers for intricate and use-lessly-extravagant schemes, but in this avo in Britain have come nearer “the simple life” than Ave have in many other things, says a Avriter in a Home paper. Ton years ago. I remember leading a description of a table centre for a dinner table. In tlie centre was placed a large plate-glass to represent a lake; on. it small'china SAvans were supposed to be gliding, the edges of the lake avere embanked with moss and heather, and a stag or two —also china—were approaching for their evening drink. NoAvadays anything of that description Avould be considered grotesque and entirely outside the realm of good taste. ■ Five years, ago,; ribbons of all kinds were used Broadcast —narrow ribbons and broad ones, ribbons in festoons, and ribbons in boAvs, all were pressed-into service; labor and time Avere spent in the manufacturing of hand-painted or elaborately-embroidered silk, satin, velvet and plush “centres,” AvhiJo epergnes, fkwer-pots, and vases of all heights and forms were indiscriminately used. These have for the. most part passed away. Instead of the vases, tall and loav, and used in numbers, Ave have only one or two, or at most, for large tables, three, or four carcfully-cbosen- receptacles Avhich hold flowers in mass. If-in glass or crystal, Avide, deep ones, like celery glasses, should be used; if in china, then boAvls or the fashionable old-fashioned jug. Now .is the time when all our old bowls and jugs are requisitioned—a deep blue color being preferred above all others. But, where these, are not to he had,- artistic Japanese and Oriental bowls can bo purchased at Joav figures, and these do very well. Only fioAvers of one variety should be used for the idecorating of a table, their foliage alone being used unstintedly Avith them. * NoAvadays, the only “centre” permissible for breakfast is one of pure white linen or canvas, Avith Irish embroidery or draAvn thread work, or sometimes a combination of both. For a small breakfast table one. boAvl, or a mediumsize flower-pot —preferably of Avhite china or china in tints to match the breakfast service—containing a fresh, green, shapely fern, is the correct form of decoration. For luncheon and four o'clock teatables, the rigidity of pure Avliito centres is relaxed, and pale shades of color arc permissible. Trails of smilax, Virginian creeper, or any other seasonable spray, add grace and beauty to the table, and the fioAvers are again massed in boAvls or large vases. For the dinner table at the present day the most fashionable centre is of 2Aiire Avhite, embroidered in silk or linen and, where possible, edged or inserted Avith good lace. On the flat surface are placed bowls of blooms, a soft light being supplied from candles, shaded to harmonise Avith the flowers. High floral decorations are entirely a thing of the paft, and >we iioav enjoy an uninterrupted view of each person at the table. In one London home famous for the taste, and beauty of its table appointments, the decorations in Juno consisted of large old blue bowls filled 1 with masses of rhododendron blooms, the dinner table being lighted by* candles Avith shades of a delicate pink. Realty lately sat down to dinner with the decorations simply of sih’er Boavls filled Avith La France roses. In autumn quite a variety of charming schemes for table decoration readily suggest themselves, and those Avho reside in the country or within reach of it are specially fortunate. A very rich Avarm effect is produced with bunches of autumn berries, arranged in blue boAvls, and sprays of the leaA'Cs turning to golden brown, laid on a pure white or Avhito-and-green centre, with golden broAvn candles and shades. Another autumn decoration is a large central bowl filled with sprays of bramble, the ripest, blackest ones being used for this boAvl, and two smaller side ones, Avith red bramble sprays of the blossom, which can always be procured in shady places. With this ri white centre embroidered in pale heliotrope looks well. GOOD RECIPES. Esealloped Oysters: —Drain the liquor from a pint of oysters and wa.sh them in a boAvl of clear Avater. Put a layer in a small buttered baking dish and sprinkle Avith salt, pepper, and bits of butter. Cover Avitli a layer of fine, dry breadcrumbs, add more seasoning and hits of butter, and proceed Avith these alternate layers until the oysters are all used. The top layer should be of crumbs, axxd thick enough to hide the oysters. Strain the. liquor and pour over it, arid let stand for a few minutes. Then pour over all half a cupful, milk and sprinkle generously with bits of butter. Bake for 15 or 20 minutes until a thick rich crust .\s formed. Rochester pudding: Required : Two eggs, their weight in self-raising flour, butter, and sugar, one teaspoonfulf of vanilla essence, four tablespoonfuls of straAvberry jam. Cream the butter and sugar until they are white, beat in the eggs, one at a time, and stir in the flour and .vanilla essence very lightly. Put tlie mixtui'o into a wellbuttered ipiedisli, and bake., for about 40 minutes. Boil the jam, turn out the pudding, and pour the jam over it. Castle nu riding : Required: One and a-balf ounces of butter, one. and a-lialf ounces of castor sugar, one and a-balf ounces of flour, tAVo eggs, grated lemon rind, sweet sauce. Cream the butter and sugar and add the eggs, and lastly sift in the flour and a little grated lemon rind. Beat thoroughly for a few minutes, and then hake in small greased cups in a hot oven. Serve Avith sweet sauce into Avhich hap boon stirred a tablespoonful of raspberry jam. Spinach a la Creme.—Wash the spinach in several Avaters, so as to prevent its being gritty; put it in a saucepan on the fire, Avith a very little water and salt; Avlien done, strain very dry and chop it up very fine. Warm 2oz of butter in a stewpan, .put the spinach in, and stir till the moisture quite evaporates; then add a very little salt, a t’uy pinch of sugar, a A'ery little nutmeg, if liked, a pinch of flour, and one large. tahlespoonful of cream, and let the Avhole simmer for a quarter of an houi. In the- meantime, fry in butter some bread, cut into fingers, about two‘ and a-half inches long and half an inch square, and put them round the spinach Avhen dished up?