When the flowers have gone then come the seed-vessels, equally as good for playthings but very different.

Of course, you know the rose-haws, the little red and yellow and green apples that you find on the rose-bushes in the fall. They are the seed-vessels of the rose, and every rose which is allowed to remain on the bush until it fades and falls apart leaves a seed-vessel to take its place.

The Doll's Fruit Piece

The rose-haws look very much like little apples. Rosy-cheeked Baldwins, yellow harvest-apples, and greenings, and they will make a fine fruit-piece for the centre of your doll's table. Pile them up on one of the toy dishes and put the smallest of green rose-leaves around the edge (Fig. 110).

Rose-Haw Necklace

But the rose-haws can be used for something besides toy apples; you can pretend they are jewels and string them for a real necklace.

One necklace can be entirely of the haws and another like Fig. 111, which is made of bronze-green haws (Fig. 112), and the long, green seed-pods of the plantain (Fig. 113). The blossoms of the plantain are pale purple or lavender, and hang from the stalk as the seed-pods do. They are bell-shaped and about an inch long. The leaf is like a lily-leaf.

As you see, the haws and seed-pods are strung alternately; first a haw, then a seed-pod, again a haw and so on. Thread your needle with strong thread and be sure the thread is long enough for the necklace. Measure it around your neck, letting it droop as much as you wish; then allow several inches at each end for tying. If you cannot find the large, brownish-green haws use yellow or red ones, but the green haws, when strung with the green seed-pods, are more beautiful.

Seed-Pod Earrings

To match the necklace, make long, green earrings of the plantain seed-pods. Fig. 114 shows a seed-pod earring. You see it is strung on a thread and the ends of the thread are then tied to form a loop. The loop must be just large enough to fit comfortably over your ear, and when you wear the earring, the green jewel will hang down and dangle delightfully. The upper end of the seed-pod should almost touch your ear.

Necklace of Barberries and Plantain-Stalk

Plantain is very useful in making jewelry because you can use the stalk as well as the seed-pods.

Fig. 115 is a necklace made of the plantain-stalk cut in short pieces, all the same length, and the coral-red berries of the barberry-bush. The crooked branches of the barberry-bush grow very close together and are covered with thorns which stand out straight and sharp like pins. That is why it is so often used for hedges; nothing can get through it without being terribly scratched. From the branches the red berries hang down like coral drops. Fig. 116 shows the way they grow. To make this necklace, string first a piece of the plantain-stalk, pushing the needle through lengthwise, then string a barberry and again a piece of the green stalk; after that a barberry. Keep on in this way until the necklace is as long as you want it.

The berries are exceedingly pretty strung as you see them, hanging down in their natural way, and really, you cannot string them any other way. The upper part of the berry is the only part through which you can pass your needle because of the large, hard seed which fills the space below.

Plantain-Stalk and Barberry Earrings

How to make the earrings to complete this set of jewelry is shown in Fig. 117. First you string a piece of the plantain-stalk, then a barberry; then you put your needle back through the stalk and tie the thread at the top. After that you make the loop to put over your ear as you did in making the seed-pod earring.

Birds of Maple-Tree Seed-Vessels

You see it is not only the seed-vessels of flowers that can be turned into playthings. The trees also furnish abundant material for toys.

Gather the winged seed-vessels that fall from the maple-trees, Fig. 118 is a maple seed-vessel, and let us sit on the dry, sun-warmed grass and turn them into odd little birds like Fig. 119. These birds are very near the size of our ruby-throated humming-birds, a trifle larger perhaps, but they do not in the least resemble the beautiful, jewel-colored, long-beaked wild bird, either in looks or habits. However, they are nice, tame, quiet little birds and never object to being handled, played with, and placed on any bush or low tree where you may happen to want to put them. You cannot say that of the humming-bird, can you?

You will need two seed-vessels for each bird. Divide one through the centre, separating the two wings, and use one of these wings for the body of the bird, as you see in the diagram Fig. 120. Clip off the two corners of the square end where the arrows point to shape it like a bird's head, then carefully bend up the seed-vessel pair of wings, and fit the body down in between them, resting it on the centre part that holds the wings together. One or two stitches with needle and thread, passed through wings and body, will keep them close and secure.

When your bird is finished (Fig. 119), thread a needle with black thread, tie a good-sized knot in the end of the thread, and push the needle from underneath up through the back of the bird where it will come out between the wings. Draw the knot up close to the body and tie the other end of the thread to a low branch of a tree. When you stand off a little distance you cannot see the thread and your bird will seem to be hovering in mid-air. A gentle breeze will stir the bird and make it look as if flying. If there is no breeze, you can blow on it, or fan it until the little thing flutters about almost as if alive.

Be careful to string the thread through the bird at a place that will make it evenly balanced.