t; and, you know, there is no accounting for tastes. The ways of
savage and civilised races are past finding out. Some wear articles in
their noses, ears, and lips; others flatten the heads of their babies.
Chinese ladies' feet are compressed to such an extent that they wobble
when they walk. The Zulus and other peoples arrange their hair in the
most extraordinary styles. These peculiar fashions are no doubt indulged
in under the impression that they add to the beauty of those who adopt
them. And so we find it in the case of tattooing, though the custom is
also supposed--in the case of men--to mark the transition from youth to
manhood, being performed usually at that period. To a small extent it is
also believed to be employed as a badge of mourning or sign of respect
for a departed friend. The tattoo is regarded as an honour, and is
reserved for free men only, slaves in New Zealand not being permitted to
undergo the operation. Oddly enough, those who are accustomed to see
tattooed people think that natives without it look bare and
"unfinished." Tattooing is said to be on the wane. If it be so, it is
quite possible that Macaulay's famous New Zealander may present none of
those marks which distinguished the features of King Tawhiao.

THE CHILDREN'S OWN GARDEN IN DECEMBER.

The present month undoubtedly presents fewer floral attractions than any
other in the whole year. Everything is in a torpid state of existence,
and the combined forces of frost, snow, wind, and rain render December
unpleasant both indoors and out. The only kinds of vegetation which seem
to flourish just now are the insignificant, but wonderfully beautiful,
mosses and lichens which everywhere clothe the rock and tree and hedge
with their diverse forms and hues. Unlike flowering plants, they do not
require culture of any sort, their beauty being wholly of a more or less
microscopic nature, and their nourishment is derived from the atmosphere
rather than by means of roots.

* * * * *

It is during such dull and lifeless months as December that our
attention becomes more engrossed with individual floral beauty, than it
does when the display is both extensive and varied. To obtain even a few
flowers at this time of the year much previous care and attention must
have been expended. Where one plant is detected in making more headway
than others its flowering-period may be greatly facilitated by carefully
guardi