Helichrysum (called by some Graphalum apiculatum) is the golden eternal flower, which, with the globe amaranth and white satiny seed-pods of the honesty - Lunaria biennis - formed the whole list of flowers for winter decorations when our grandmothers were girls. Now, besides the old Helichrysum bracteatum, whose sunny face is as radiant as ever, we have over a dozen varieties, in all shades of yellow, and in yellow and brown, yellow tipped with crimson, crimson, rose, white, white tipped with rose, and white with yellow centre; single, semi-double and double - some very large and full - like great balls of gold. Of these, H. compositum mon-strosum is the most elegant variety, with its large and full blossoms, some plants bearing pure white, others rose, and, others still, red or yellow. These make a fine show in the garden. They need a rich soil, and, like the gomphrena do best started in the house or in a hot-bed. Seeds produced by the florets of the ray (the outer row of petals), as in all composite flowers, are more likely to yield double flowers.

This variety grows to the height of two feet.

The dwarf heliohrysums, from half a foot to eighteen inches high, are, in general, less hardy and of delicate colors. H. nanum atrosanguineum is, however, an exception, with its brilliant crimson flowers. H. minimum, and H. brachyrrhincum are exceedingly bright, but of tender habits. H. chrysocephalum striatum is a splendid plant, with an abundance of gorgeous orange-yellow flowers, rather small, but very desirable. This variety stands three feet high at maturity. The Helichrysums seed the same treating as gomphrenas. Their buds are particularly beautiful if dried in several stages of growth. Both these and gomphrena buds are very effective, in con-11 nection with their blossoms, for wreaths or for baskets, as may bo seen in these little Swiss flower baskets, where several species of dried everlastings are prettily grouped with green moss.

This is the wood-moss, that grows on the bark of old trees, near their roots, and on rooks in moist situations, mostly in the shade of trees. Get this in May or June, wash it from all impurities, and spread it to dry in the dark; then keep it from light and air till used; but, even with the greatest care, it will fade in the course of a few months.

Its color can frequently be restored when faded, and also that of the faded moss that is found in autumn or early spring, by subjecting it to a hot bath of weak "crystal blue," such as is used for laundry purposes. But to brighten any amount of moss, it should be thoroughly cleansed from dust, etc., then partially bleached, by lying an hour in a solution of chloride of lime (an ounce to a pailful of water), hot, rinsed immediately in clean, cold water, and passed through a hot bath of crystal blue, to which sufficient (a few drops) muriate of iron has been added to make it a good green. French moss already dyed can be obtained of the florists, but our own, thus treated, is excellent.

Pretty pictures - bas-reliefs - are made by cutting these small baskets in halves, and gumming each half to card-board, then filling them with moss and everlasting flowers, and gumming those also to the card-board. Thus two baskets are represented as if resting against a white back-ground. The body of such baskets may be filled with soft paper or cotton, the moss and everlastings resting upon and glued or gummed to the rim, and also at the back to the card-board. Glassed and framed, these pictures are cheerful ornaments for the mantel or the walls of any room.

Helipterum, the " sun's wing" of our flower-border, is a favorite with many, because it grows with as little care as a daisy. Low in growth - less than a foot - but thickly studded with bright yellow or white blossoms, that hold their color well. H. Sanfordii has clusters of golden yellow; H. anthe-moides has white, and a recent variety, H. corymbiflorum, is said to produce particularly fine white star-like flowers. The helipterums are used in company with gomphrenas, heliohrysums and other eternals in the annexed illustration. The combination of so many species, when their various colors are properly contrasted, makes a very handsome display. A wreath of this sort, made like that on the previous page, is suitable for a grave, or for a parlor window at Christmas.

If small and delicate sprigs of lycopodium be used for verdure, or if moss be substituted for it, and the wreath be made in the manner directed for covering the anchor, it serves admirably as a frame for a picture - a photograph likeness, for instance.

Rhodanthe, though rather a tender plant, is considered by most cultivators the handsomest of all everlasting flowers. Its half-blown buds are bell-shaped, and its colors, varying from purple and violet to white, sometimes with deep purple centres, at others with a golden disk, give it a charming appearance. The seed should be started within doors, and the young plants set in rich, mellow soil. Rhodanthe Manglesii, an Australian variety, has many admirers; is often kept as a parlor plant through the winter, growing well with the gomphrenas. R. atrosanguinea has handsome foliage, and blossoms with claret centres ; in some flowers dark violet and maroon, the rays - the outer scales - being of a brilliant crimson. R. maculata is a a hardy variety, with light purple, and R. maculata alba has elegant silvery white ray-scales, with yellow disk - very desirable flowers to he used in the making up of winter flower-baskets, the beautiful colors and graceful forms of their buds and half open flowers being a charming addition to any collection, as we see in this handsome Christmas basket - a very appropriate gift for an invalid's table, or a fine ornament for a corner stand in the parlor.

These baskets, lined with silver paper or tin-foil, and then filled with sawdust or dry sand, hold the stems of eternal flowers, mosses and dried grass-flowers in a steady position, just as they are arranged, for any length of time. If in a situation exposed to dust or wind, they should be kept under glass.

Polycolynmna Stuartii is a trailing everlasting, quite hardy for garden growth; is used with others of the same class on account of its showy white flowers, in these winter baskets. Some baskets are mounted on stands. Our illustration shows the polycolymna, its trailing branches drooping from the brim. Any neat basket, such as ladies Use for sewing materials, looks pretty, and is a Very convenient receptacle for winter flowers and grasses, with lycopodium or moss to bring the various forms and hues into good position; the color of brown baskets displays the white and yellow tinted blossoms to better advantage than the ordinary neutral tint of wicker-work.

Wailzia aurea and Waitzia grandiflora - new Varieties of this class of flowers - though tender, requiring a start in the hot-bed or in a window box, are elegant plants for the garden ; and, if the blossoms are cut from the parent stock early, are of a clear, golden yellow. W. grandiflora produces an abundance of very handsome clusters of flowers, that must be gathered before they are fully expanded, and dried as directed for graphaliums.

Xeranthemum annuum, the purple everlasting, is always wanted for winter wreaths or bouquets, and seems never out of place in a funeral garland, for its exquisite purple tints harmonise well cither with white or gold color. All the varieties are easily reared every summer, from seed that germinates quickly in a warm, light soil. Though growing only to the height of ten or twelve inches, they yield a profusion of flowers, large and double. X. alba, the double white variety, is very handsome; also X caruleum, with pale blue blossoms.

From these different species of everlastings and their several varieties, when nicely dried, a most elegant bouquet can be made. Examine carefully this representation, and note what variety of form and figure from bud and blossom, clustered or singly, the comparatively email range of everlasting or eternal flowers supplies. With the simple greenery of lycopodium and wood moss adding their peculiar charms, a more tasteful ornament for the mantel or a corner bracket cannot be devised. To arrange a bouquet like this, presenting only a front view - a flat bouquet, as it is styled - a number of wires or bare twigs, of various lengths, must be provided, to each of which the evergreen and the flowers are bound, as the fancy directs, in small portions of each, beginning at the top with the most slender moss and finest lycopodium. Cover the twigs (if forked and branching, so much the better), for an inch or two with the green; then fasten them together securely at the base, spreading them, to make the group somewhat fan-shape ; then proceed with the smaller buds and blossoms for the outer flowers of the bouquet, and the larger and more showy for the centre; tie each securely; and, filling all vacancies with moss, its delicate fronds also edging the outlines of the group, as you weave in and tie the stems, you will at last have the result here portrayed.

Fill a vase with sand, and insert the bare ends of the twigs - two inches should be left uncovered - and your bouquet has a firm support. Ornamental grasses are frequently introduced into bouquets of eternal flowers, and the airy grace of their delicate blossoms has a meet charming effect; but we must reserve their consideration for another paper.

It has been shown that all these articles of decoration can be made at home, and that all the materials used in their construction can be easily procured, while the flowers, after beautifying the family garden, can be preserved a long time in these tasteful designs. But there is no danger of this being done to the extent of interfering with the trade; were greater 'interest awakened in this, as in other horticultural matters, our florists would have occasion to renew yet oftener their orders to England and France for floral designs, as well as for seeds and plants.