The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 16, 1900, Page 18

THE SUNDAY CALL {0 VIOLET PLATE [\| \ They re esteemed in al y cent a favor Japenese, end has given an original commerce. ries, vorite tc At Tokio, toward the end of May and the beginning , one sees suspended u: the wve das of houses beautiful ttle cages of bamboo, from which break the silence of the fresh twilight o whistlings, of metallic mod- Hie™ 1% is habitualty in :;.-hr:r?n:;‘z, after the hour of the bath, that the people of Tokio mt}hu;aselvex Prefer SinGing isten with delight to the shrill con- e most prized of these singing insects suzumushi. Its name means ‘‘nsect- and the sound which it emits re- sembles that of a tiny silver bell. It is a tiny black beetle, of & flat body and very vulgar appearance. The kutsuwa-mushi is so named because its cry resembles the sound made by & horse in champing its bit. There are two species of it, the one a light yellow and the other a pale green. Really, this insect is none other than a kind of winged grass- hopper, of fat body and common in many countries. Another singing insect much esteemed s the kirigirisu, which is but a very large G b Tnsects to SomG-Birds Tn Japzn Difficulties. of ®hipa Firipg Explaiped \ Together With Some Hlits op fp- propriate Designs for Gablewarg, Vases and Jardinieres. eat from continu to roast ng turkey. nee more, so long as we eat to acknowledge ch ting and drin L only part of the pleasur r party or our afternoon tes intiness of the cup nd 1 to do with it 1t would be a long s night gues sry for the peopla who spend their days prying into things to tell how china painting originat- ed. Probably they would be able to tell something about aborigipal tharac- : painted upon abor 1 earthenware. would explain how chis of decoration pr ed down tue years until it Geveloped in 1900 in the form of blurred viole and Dresden lovers upon a white china basis. All of this interests them a great deai, but ten to one they couldn’t paint a rosebud them- selves. The people wio do the decorating are £0 much concerned with “mineral colors™ and *“conventional designs’ (these grasshopper, producing varied, strident sounds. Then there is the enamkorogi, which is a kind of cricket: the kusa-hi- bari, a minute grasshopper, which has a sound of remarkable clearness. The kan- tan, originally from China, and which sings only at midnight; the kanetataki, whose song resembles the far-away sound of a clock. In Toklo alone there are over forty merchants dealing in singing in- sects. This commerce is of relatively re- cent origin, though for centuries the Jap- anese have been fond of the music of these insects. Formerly they would go 'n parties to places whers the little mu- wiclans abounded, pass the night there extended upon mats, drinking tea or sakl and listening to the harmony of the suzu- @rticlcs From Warren Deco- rative £rt to investiga nt occupation he fi Murried have anyth ige and aougnt. China r concern vou have a ed cabinet and a sideboard of y t we are by settle down to business. ner set on respecting 't you think s is too fine to be thrown away. s long led in popu- s Belleek is gaininz. any better— ause its shapes Besides the tableware there is more more demand for heavier i . dinleres and large vases are as handsoms gifts as any Christmas n and d even a wed: at th ng need not turn up its nose th forr of porcelain the dark colors are prevai nowadays. W backgrounds broken by delicately flower sprays were the fashion back flects for d to-day red flower and fruit "here is nothing bet- e thit se pieces. The pur- ples and fruit. combined with d results. top of a all r The ; some gold paint is almost t gives “tone.” It fs an even if you stravagantly, member that every little counts. + comes from France and gold ny. 1 <t of the colors that of Ame colors of n It is bulky il attachments mich tr nt chi dec- tors insist upon three firings, and as more coler has to be add epare to ke hefore refiring, your porcelain busy or some simple flower designs two fir- ing {ent. Where gold is used 1t is not agplied until the other cc ready for their last trip to the oven. C 1d mushi and kutsuwamushi. It is only about 100 years ago that an amateur named Choso had the idea of capturing one of these insects for his own particular diversion. Then the singing scason over, he forgot a certaln number in a closed vase. Great was his surprisc, on opening it the following year, to find it filled with newly hatched young. After that he gave himself up to the raising of various species of singing insects, and so founded a trade which has become flour- ishing. Actually the greater number of singing Insects are artificially ralsed by certain proceedings, so that their hatch- ng corresponds to the seasons when thelr admirers love to listen to them and to combine their sounds. —_———— ' The parchment of the best banjoes fs made of wolf skin. Porcelain NASTURTIVM BOWL 000000000000 .“..“.“.. 000000000000 gets its full value at the first application, but other tints need repet! is a wise decree of fate, considering the price of the gold Ifiyou have no real knowledge of paint- ing your chin corating will be only half succe of course. Your good e you in the choice of col- may and be able to y out with to do S ger of your failing be drawn for you on the por and you can follow with your brush, work will smack a bit of the Don't attempt too wvers and f a brush as onc to ing authority Flowe table was de prim little p medallion monotony. A choc is a pretty exampie « wrought gold design and on the front of e on the pitcher, the g Dresd fashion e side a hug: am 1 estimate for colors ana and it sells for $7 So if you are inte keramics for profit you wil neat profit tucked away therein. going find a The charm of the Dresden ladies and gentlemen lies beyond the American brush to catch. Coples of the real thing are our only safety. Original pleces ot china or cards bearing the designs in col- ors are d by professionals, A new shade named for the same old who has been called responsible e colors than he ever saw in any is the Wedgwood blue that is d for vases. It is dark and yet it is used solidly, relieved only by of gold and medallion painted, as all are, In the most delicate tints. ark blue brings these out to possible advantage. Sets of cups and plates 1 fashion than that nt from e\ l".' ror will doesn’t i on the and you eggs In nd lemon 1other story has reached the at is an argu- 2g to be a fine that a great deal of miniature portrait painting is done upon porcelain. And if that does not rise above ‘“‘decoration’—what will con- vince you? nting on point of frar Queer Notions of People Whe Patwcnize the Dentist. “Dentists occasionally run across odd-.' things in their practice,” said a member of that profession recently. *You are aware that many are very particular con- cerning the plate in which artificial teeth are set. Some want gold, others silver, vulcanite and what not. But did you ever hear of patients wearing their own Initials inside the mouth? “We recently prepared an upper set for a gentleman well known in theatrical cir- cles, and in the platinum roof was set in wires of gold the wearer's initials. An- other roofplate, which we were privileged to see, tas a perfect masterpiece of artis- tic work. There were three horsemen de- ground of catstone and a crescent moon of gleaming silver—all set in the compo- sition of the roof. The teeth were of good quality, but not remarkable, and the price was exactly $500. A person unconscicus of the value of the inner roof would have set the price at $25. “Very richly enameled was the dancing 8irl which decorated the false roof of a one-time millionaire. The pictured lady ‘wore slippers set with tiny dlamonds and the owner, being a great smoker, sported an ordinary set when desirous of indulg- ng in a fragrant whiff, thereby never dis- coloring the dainty enamel of the choice article. ‘We were once asked to fashion & plate from the tusk of an elephant, but Dpicted In gold wire. fine as a halr, & fore-_as this would have been a difficult and un- satisfactory proceeding we were oblixed to reject the ofter. “The most absurd thing we were ever requested to insert in a false roof was a tiger's claw—a trophy of an Indian jungle hunt. We managed it, and to prevent the claw from wounding the tongue of our patron we tipped it bluntly with gold. After a while the tip fell off and the wearer’s tongue was torn. To us he came in a rage and finally decided to wear the claw as a chain pendant. Boasting a sub- stantial set of natural ivory, an eccentric wished to have an artificial lot that would case his own. We prepared them. They gave him a prominent mouth, altering his features vastly. We found he was & burg- lar of the ‘first class.’' ™