e passed into Italy and afterward into France. In
course of time people got tired of artificial flowers for decorative
purposes, and then imitation fruits made their appearance, and were worn
in the toilets of dowagers and mothers of families.

Now that fashion, that tyrant born of dressmakers, milliners, and tailors
of renown, obliges us to clothe ourselves according to accepted models,
the kaleidoscope no longer suffices to find the most varied designs and
most fantastic cuts for garbs or ornament.

In recent years pleasing objects have been borrowed from the animal
kingdom, such as small birds and quadrupeds, and insects with brilliant
colors and of strange forms. What formerly would have been a repulsive
object (such as a great longicorn or beetle) is worn with ease by the
belles of our time. The use of such objects of natural history, however,
has been about confined to the decoration of head-dresses or the
manufacture of jewelry.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.--DRESS TRIMMINGS OF FRUITS AND SEEDS. 1. Seeds
of _Casuarina_ and fruit of alder. 2. Acorn cup, involcure of beech, and
pod of medick. 3. Fruit of _Eucalyptus_, cups of acorns, Job's tears, and
cones of cypress.]

As the need of creating new models is always making itself felt, one
ingenious manufacturer, Mr. Collin, has turned toward the vegetable
kingdom, and brought out an elegant and original style of dress-trimming
made of certain indigenous and exotic fruits and seeds that no one would
ever have thought of using for such a purpose. Instead of pendants made
of wood and covered with silk or velvet, Mr. Collin uses dry fruits or
seeds, which he has previously dyed, gilded, or silvered.

[Illustration: FIG. 2.--DRESS TRIMMINGS OF FRUITS AND SEEDS. 4 and 5.
Fruit of alder. 6. Fruit of _Casuarina_. 7. Fruit of _Arbutus_. 8. Fruit
of _Casuarina_.]

In order that the effect may be good, it is necessary that the objects be
not uniform. Their surface must be naturally carved and hollowed, and the
projecting parts must detach themselves well from each other. The number
of species now used is relatively large, but a selection from these will
inevitably be made. Some patterns will be better liked than others, and
ladies who are to wear these new trimmings this winter will be able to
make their choice of them at the fashion stores. When such articles as
these make their appearance, they often spread with surprising rapidity.
It is now but a few days since the great d