Emeralds, representing nature and youth...

Emerald's in a tiara.

       It seems very appropriate that the emerald should have been chosen as the birthstone for May, the month when Nature, awakening from her long winter rest, feels the stirring of new life and decks herself in the green of spring. Long before the Christian Era the Greeks, recognizing the fitness of this association, dedicated the emerald to Venus, their goddess of love, life, and generation, while in far-off Mexico the Aztecs had instituted the same symbolism and pronounced this gem sacred to their own Earth goddess who controlled the destinies of growing things.
       The true emerald is beryl of the accepted green hue. This gem is obtained from mines in Siberia, South America, and Upper Egypt. It has also been found in very limited quantities in North Carolina. While we often hear of Brazilian emeralds, there is no authentic proof that the emerald was ever found in Brazil, and it is thought that green tourmaline, somewhat resembling the true emerald and found in great quantities in Brazil, may have been introduced into Europe as the Brazilian emerald and thus have given rise to the idea that true emeralds came from that locality. Emeralds from Siberia and South America are of the finest quality, the gems from the Egyptian mines being light in color and cloudy.

Emeralds cut and uncut.

 

       A fine emerald is the rarest of the precious stones, and throughout the ages it has occupied the first place in point of value. While it cannot be said that there is no such thing as a perfect emerald, such gems are so exceedingly rare that the flawless emerald has passed into proverb as an unattainable form of perfection. Practically all emeralds contain fissures, cracks, and small enclosures of foreign matter, which if present in great quantity, tend to make the gem cloudy and dull. Depth and beauty of color should be the first consideration in the selection of an emerald, after which should follow transparency and approximate freedom from flaws.

• All things emerald: Everything you need to know
• How to tell the difference between natural and created emeralds
• Kagem and Zambia, The World's Largest Emerald Mine
• 9 Famous Emeralds in the World

HISTORY

       The earliest source whence this gem was obtained is the so-called ''Cleopatra'' mines in Upper Egypt. The length of time during which these mines have been operated is not known. Implements found there date back to the time of Sesostris, 1650 B. C., but as emeralds have been found in the wrappings of mummies of a much earlier period it is practically certain that the Cleopatra mines were known many centuries before that time. During the Middle Ages the location of these mines was lost, but they were discovered early in the last century by a French explorer. They were, however, worked but little at that time, and were closed within a few years. About 1902 they were reopened and produced gems still.
       When the Spaniards grimly conquered Peru and Mexico and ruthlessly despoiled those countries of all treasure that could be carried away, immense numbers of emeralds, some of almost incredible size, were literally poured into Spain and eventually found their way into other parts of Europe.
       The Spaniards having seized nearly all of the emeralds that the natives had amassed in their temples, devoted their attention to searching for the source of these marvels of nature, and in 1558 they discovered the mines in what is now the United States of Colombia. These mines have been worked almost continuously since that time and are the principal source of the present-day emerald supply.
       As the natives, who met with gross injustice and cruelty at the hands of the Spaniards, hid all of the mines that were known to them and refused to give any information as to their location, it is possible that other emerald mines may yet be discovered. No emeralds are produced from either Peru or Mexico during modern times. It is believed, therefore, that the gems which the conquistadores found in the possession of the Incas and the Aztecs came from mines which remain unknown to us, or from the mines in Colombia.
       Perhaps the most extraordinary of the gems which the Spanish obtained from the New World at the time of the Conquests were the five choice emeralds which Hernando Cortes presented to his bride, thereby mortally offending the Queen who had desired them for herself. These had been fashioned into divers fancy shapes. One was cut like a bell and had a fine pearl for a tongue. Another was shaped like a rose, and a third like a horn. A fourth was fashioned into the form of a fish, while the fifth was hollowed out and shaped into a cup. These gems were lost on Cortes disastrous voyage to assist Charles V at the siege of Algiers, 1529.

AN UNFORTUNATE TEST

       We are told that many fine emeralds were destroyed through the ignorance of the Spaniards who believed that it was the nature of the true emerald to withstand the blow of a hammer. Of course no gem would stand such a rigorous test.
       Lake Guatavita, on the Andean plateau of Colombia, was the chief holy place of the native people of that locality hundreds of years ago. Gold and emeralds, unknown to their impoverished descendants of our day, were then plentiful among them. It was customary for these natives, at their semi-annual festivals, to cast great quantities of gold, emeralds and other precious stones into the lake as propitiatory offerings to the divinity who was supposed to dwell therein. During the ceremony, the Casique (tribal chieftain), having covered his body with an adhesive clay over which was then sprinkled gleaming gold-dust, would paddle to the center of the lake bearing the choicest offerings, with which he would plunge into the water. Having washed away the gold-dust, he would swim ashore. The Spaniards, observing this procedure, called the Casique "El Dorado" (The Golden One). The term is now generally used to signify a place where gold is found in great abundance.
       Attempts have been made to secure the treasures of Lake Guatavita by drawing off the waters of the lake, but they have met with but partial success. One of the early attempts at least resulted in the recovery of so much treasure that the government's three per cent share is said to have amounted to $170,000. In none of these essays, however, was the lake effectually drained. It is probable that in order to secure the treasure it would now be necessary to dredge forty or fifty feet below the present lake bottom, the religious custom which we have related having prevailed among the natives centuries ago.

RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS

       Not among the indigenous peoples alone did the emerald possess religious associations. In Rabbinical legend it is related that four precious stones were given by God to King Solomon. One of these was the emerald.
       This gem was one of the stones in the breast-plate of the Jewish High Priest. In Greek mythology there was a gem-city (the City of the Islands of the Blessed), the walls of which were of emerald. The first Mohammedan heaven was supposed to be composed of emerald, and in Revelation this gem is given as the fourth foundation stone of the New Jerusalem.
       The Sacro Catino a cup preserved in Genoa, was long believed to be made from a single immense emerald. Investigation has since proved that it is of no more valuable material than green glass. A legend still current in the early part of the sixteenth century represented this cup as having been used by Christ at the Last Supper. At one time when the government was pressed for money, the Sacro Catino was offered to a rich merchant of Metz as a pledge for a loan of 100,000 crowns. He was loath to take it, as he probably recognized its spurious character, but was finally forced to accept it under threats of dire vengeance in case of refusal. When some years later the Genoese were ready to redeem this precious relic, they were puzzled to learn that no less than six different persons claimed to have it in their possession. The merchant had fabricated a number of copies which he had succeeded in pawning for large sums, assuring the lender in each case that the redemption of the pledge was certain.
       It seems not amiss here to state that while we sometimes hear of ''synthetic" or ''scientific'' emeralds, there is no such thing. All attempts on the part of man, to fuse emerald chips, or to otherwise evolve a gem which will stand the tests that are used to identify the true emerald, have failed, and imitation emeralds can easily be recognized by one who is familiar with the character of the true gem. 

LORE AND SUPERSTITIONS 

       The superstitions that are attached to the emerald are many. Thus it was believed to predict future events. Whether this was accomplished through images seen in the stone in the manner in which such images are seen in crystal spheres, or through some power to confer prophetic vision believed to be inherent in the stone, is not plain. As a revealer of truth this stone was an enemy of all enchantments and conjurations, hence it was greatly favored by magicians who found all their arts of no avail if an emerald were in their vicinity when they began to weave their spells.
       Many other virtues were supposed to be peculiar to the emerald. If one wished to strengthen his memory or become an eloquent speaker he was sure to attain his end by securing possession of a fine emerald. The gem revealed the truth or falsity of lovers oaths, sharpened the wits, enhanced the honesty of the wearer, and cooled all passion. It was also believed to be fatal to the eyesight of serpents.

THERAPEUTIC USES

       The emerald was employed as an antidote for poisons and for poisoned wounds. It was also used as a cure for epilepsy, dysentery, leprosy, and many other diseases. It was considered most efficacious in the treatment of diseases of the eye, and so general in the early centuries was the idea that the pure green hue of emeralds aided the eyesight and rested the eyes, that gem - engravers were said to have kept some of them on their work-tables that they might look at the stones from time to time and thus relieve the eye-strain caused by close application to their delicate tasks.

LARGE STONES

       Tradition and unauthenticated accounts tell of phenomenally large emeralds. Most of these stories are without foundation, the number of large emeralds in existence being extremely limited. One of the largest of these belonged to the Duke of Devonshire.
       This gem is a South American stone, badly flawed but of good color. Its weight is 1347 carats.
       The finest cut emerald known is a gem of thirty carats which belonged to the former Czars of Russia.

FAMOUS EMERALDS 

       Of the famous emeralds perhaps the one most deserving of mention was that which belonged to Nero. This gem, famed far and wide, was believed to possess many powers. It was fashioned into a lens and through it the Roman Emperor was accustomed to view the gladiatorial shows.
       In ancient times green was used as the mourning color for those who died in the flower of youth, an emerald being placed at times on the index finger of the deceased. In the tomb of Tullia, the dearly beloved daughter of Cicero, was found a large and rarely beautiful emerald. This gem passed into the hands of Isabella da Este.
       A famous talismanic emerald, once the property of the Moguls of Delhi, ranks as one of the finest gems known. It possesses an unusual depth of color and weighs 78 carats.

THE EMERALD TODAY

       It may be truthfully said that the emerald is the most beautiful of the colored gems, and it is to be regretted that so few of them are to be had. In recent years this gem has become increasingly difficult to obtain and one who possesses a fine specimen is indeed fortunate. The small stones are more plentiful and are used in many of the most beautiful rings and gem-pieces in conjunction with diamonds or other precious stones to lend a touch of that superb color which is characteristic of the emerald alone. Wood

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Where From

 Where From

The onion was born in Egypt
The potato in far Peru,
Celery came from Germany,
As a few other good things do;
Cabbage first grew in Liberia,
The radish in quaint Japan,
And the cucumber got its colicky start
At the hands of the Hindoo man.
The garden cress is from Egypt
And some more of the far-off East,
And we judge, from things they've been raising,
South America first planted yeast;
The parsnip first grew in Arabia,
The tobacco in our own land,
Sardinia first raised the parsley plant,
And America, 'balmed beef, canned.

Starches That We Eat

        When we eat potatoes we are eating the food that the growing potato plant had set aside as starch for its own future use. The potatoes we eat are the plant's swollen stems, which we call tubers. From water, air, certain minerals, and sunlight, the leaves of the growing plant manufacture sugar. During the growing season extra sugar is made. This extra sugar is moved to a storage place where most of it is changed into starch and some of it into fats and proteins. When the plant needs to use this stored food it will be changed back to sugar and taken wherever needed.
       Starch is perhaps the most widely distributed substance in the plant kingdom and occurs, often in great abundance, in almost every plant. Plants usually store starch in stems (as in the white potato), roots (as in the sweet potato), bulbs, or seeds. Cereal grains have much starch, but there are also other important starches that are staple foods of many people of the world.
       When the Spanish explorers went into Peru and Chile four hundred years ago, they found the natives cultivating and eating potatoes. These Spaniards introduced the potato into Europe and, later, settlers from Europe brought it to North America. Thus it came to us the long way around rather than directly from the South American countries.

A Papuan woman extract starch sago from the spongy center of the palm stems.

       Everywhere the potato went its popularity grew rapidly. It has even played important roles in history, for the quick-growing potato often came to the rescue when the staple cereal crops were slow to reach the harvest or when they failed entirely. In overpopulated Ireland the soil and cool climate were ideal for potato raising, and potatoes became the Irish staple. When the potato crop of 1845 failed, a terrible famine occurred, resulting in a great Irish immigration to the United States. The white potato is now popularly known as the Irish potato. In planting a new crop, potatoes themselves are used, for new plants grow from the eyes of the potato, which are really the buds of the plant.

       The potato of warm climates is the sweet potato, which belongs to a different family than the Irish potato. It stores up more sugars and fats along with the starch. In the South some varieties are called yams, but the true yam represents still another plant family, which is seldom grown in the United States.

       The cassava is an important source of staple starch food in South America. Its milky roots may grow to be three feet long and over half a foot across. Tapioca is the starch that has been separated from the cassava plant and heated until the granules burst into pellets.

       The Pacific islands have several unique staple starch foods. Among them are taro, sago, and breadfruit. Taro, like the potato and cassava, is a tuberous plant. Sago comes from a palm tree. The pith in the center of the tree trunk supplies the edible starch from which is made the fine pearly grains known as pearl sago. Sago is eaten in the form of cakes or soup by the natives, to whom it is an important article of everyday diet. The sago tree blooms just once, when it is fifteen years old, at which time it uses up its starchy pith and then dies. Natives cut the tree just as it is ready to flower and therefore just in time to collect the pith, which may amount to seven hundred pounds in a single tree. The large pulpy fruit of the breadfruit tree is prepared in a variety of ways. Boiled, baked, dried, crushed, or in bread or pudding, breadfruit is relished throughout the tropics. by Winona Cosner.

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History through the eyes of the potato 

by Leo Bear-McGuinness.

The Story of Common Salt

Ponds near Maras, Peru, fed from a mineral spring and used
for salt production since the time of the Incas.

       One of the most valuable and useful of minerals is Common Salt. No one knows when man first began its use.

       If we look at a list of the articles carried over the ancient caravan routes, we find salt listed with incense and spices. Those were the days when offerings were made to pagan gods, and salt was considered precious enough to be offered with gifts of cereals. In some parts of the Orient, it still has a sacred use. The Arabs use an old expression, "To eat salt" to mean there is a sacred bond of friendship between two persons, while in Persia, "Untrue to salt" means a person has been ungrateful.

       The Hopis and Zunis of our own country also have a sacred idea regarding salt. The Hopis had several salt deities. Hurung Wuhti, "The Woman of Hard Substances," was said to have been the sister of the rain gods. After being driven from heaven she was made goddess of salt. The Zunis' "salt mother" was "Mawe," the spirit of their sacred salt lake. At certain seasons, ceremonies are held there. Many wars were been waged between neighboring tribes to keep possession of that lake. It's salt was the finest to be found in the southwest, and had often been found in the ruins of cliff dwellings.

       In the Old Testament, there are thirty-five verses which mention salt. One of these mentions Lot's wife, who was turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back at the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:26) as they were destroyed. When the judge Abimelech destroyed the city of Shechem, he is said to have "sown salt on it," probably as a curse on anyone who would re-inhabit it (Judges 9:45). The Book of Job contains the first mention of salt as a condiment. "Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?" (Job 6:6). In the New Testament, six verses mention salt. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus referred to his followers as the "salt of the earth". The apostle Paul also encouraged Christians to "let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt" (Colossians 4:6). Salt is mandatory in the rite of the Tridentine Mass. Salt is used in the third item (which includes an Exorcism) of the Celtic Consecration (cf. Gallican Rite) that is employed in the consecration of a church. Salt may be added to the water "where it is customary" in the Roman Catholic rite of Holy water.

       In Judaism, it is recommended to have either a salty bread or to add salt to the bread if this bread is unsalted when doing Kiddush for Shabbat. It is customary to spread some salt over the bread or to dip the bread in a little salt when passing the bread around the table after the Kiddush. To preserve the covenant between their people and God, Jews dip the Sabbath bread in salt.

       Salt has been used to mark social positions. Stories of feudal days refer to great dinners of the nobles, and mention certain people as "sitting below the salt." Those of high positions sat between the salt and the lord or baron giving the dinner, while those of lower positions were placed below the dish of salt.

       One of the oldest of Italian roads is the Via Salaria‚ the salt road. Over it were carried the great quantities of salt for the Roman soldiers. Each man was given a certain allowance of salt. Later, the government gave him the money with which to purchase the salt needed. This money was called Salarium. Our word salary comes from it.

       In some places salt took the place of money, as in Tibet, Mongolia and Abyssinia. It was often highly taxed, in some lands so much so that only the wealthy could buy it. The poor must go without. China received a large revenue each year from its salt taxes.

       Many kinds of animals and most peoples should have salt to keep their bodies healthy. Animals in the wild visit salt springs or "salt licks" where the rocks contain salt. Man secures his salt, or sodium chloride‚ as the science books call it, from several sources.

       If he lives near the sea, he may evaporate the sea water, using the sun's heat or artificial heat. Inland peoples may obtain their salt from lakes and seas having no outlets, such as the Great Salt Lake in Utah, or the Dead Sea in western Asia, or it may come from brine wells and deep mines. Some of the world's finest salts come from mines. The most famous salt mine was at Wieliczka, Poland. It was almost an underground city with its 65 miles of galleries and more than 30 miles of railroad.

       Salt in the mineral form is known as "rock salt." Occasionally, it is found in a massive, fibrous form, called "hair salt" but usually it is in cube-shaped crystals. When tinted with red, brown or yellow, it has been colored by other kinds of minerals or vegetable matters seeping in during crystal growth. When pure, rock salt is colorless and transparent. It has several interesting scientific uses. Among them is its use for quickly transmitting heat waves. Especially large crystals are sometimes used in studying the infra-red rays from the sun. The United States and Galicia are said to produce the finest of rock salts.

       In past ages, lagoons and other bodies of sea water deposited their salts in various localities. Sometimes, it formed layers hundreds of feet thick; sometimes, it worked its way into crevices. Today, water flowing naturally through such areas dissolves bits of the salt and in time it reaches the surface, or is pumped up into pans and evaporated. The method of evaporation determines the purity, size of grains, and the different uses to which the salt may be put. We are most familiar with the fine "table salt." The coarser salts are of tremendous value to the makers of chemicals, glass, glazes, enamels and soaps, as well as to the fishermen, meat-packers and dairymen.

       The United States stands high in the production of salt, for it prepares more for the markets than any other land. The salt wells of Michigan are especially noted. Margaret M. Cornell

Redmond Salt Mine in America's Heartland.

Folk Art Dolls from Peru

Depicted above are Peruvian natives in their rustic garments. They carry wood for cooking fires
and the market place. On the left a woman in a plaid skirt and on the right,
a man in blue jeans.

       These rustic looking souvenir dolls from Peru are made from scraps of fiber, wood, nails and fabric. All of these materials come together to demonstrate the creative imagination and innovation of their female creators. Not a scrap that can be used is thrown away. Their thrift provides much needed income and souvenir doll collectors from all over the world are happy to oblige these ladies! 

Above text, "Women from Peru have been crafting folk dolls for tourists for nearly 100 years.
 The dolls come in as many shapes and sizes as you can imagine. The income from this
 trade has fed and clothed their families from Peru for generations."

Both of our dolls have heads made from stockinette and limbs made from wire covered
with a paper made to look like wood. Their feet are attached to a
similar base with tiny nails.

Journey Through Peru's Incredible Sights in 
6 Minutes with National Geographic!

More About Peru:

• Peru's Quechua Indians: Culture and family traditions of the Inca descendants
• Peru, wild shepherdess with Kate Humble - BBC Documantary

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Paddington Bear

This tiny Paddington bear belongs
 to our 18" dolls.

       The first Paddington Bear stuffed toy to be manufactured was created in 1972 by Gabrielle Designs, a small business run by Shirley and Eddie Clarkson, with the prototype made as a Christmas present for their children Joanna and Jeremy Clarkson (who later became a well-known British TV presenter and writer).

Just right, our Paddington Bear is from Eden Toys, 1987. He is posable, five inches tall and wears a red felt hat, black 'rubber' boots and a handmade yellow felt 'rain coat.'

       Shirley Clarkson dressed the stuffed bear in Wellington boots to help it stand upright. (Paddington received Wellingtons for Christmas in Paddington Marches On, 1964.) The earliest bears wore small children's boots manufactured by Dunlop Rubber until production could not meet demand. Gabrielle Designs then produced their boots with paw prints moulded into the soles just like those on our doll's bear in the photo.

Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October 1958 in the children's book A Bear Called Paddington and has been featured in more than twenty books written by British author Michael Bond and illustrated by Peggy Fortnum and other artists.

• Books for Kids Read Aloud by ABC Story Time
• 60 facts about Paddington Bear on his 60th birthday

The friendly bear from "darkest Peru"—with his old hat, battered suitcase, duffel coat and love of marmalade—has become a classic character from British children's literature. An anthropomorphised bear, Paddington is always polite – addressing people as "Mr", "Mrs" and "Miss", rarely by first names – and kindhearted, though he inflicts hard stares on those who incur his disapproval. He has an endless capacity for innocently getting into trouble, but he is known to "try so hard to get things right." He was discovered in London Paddington station, by the (human) Brown family who adopted him, and thus he gives his full name as "Paddington Brown" (his original Peruvian name being too hard for them to pronounce).

• Paddington Travels from Darkest Peru to London
• 'Paddington Comes to America' New exhibit opens at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

Paddington books have been translated into 30 languages across 70 titles and have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. A much loved fictional character in the UK, a Paddington Bear soft toy was chosen by British tunnelers as the first item to pass through to their French counterparts when the two sides of the Channel Tunnel were linked in 1994. Paddington Bear has been adapted for television, films and appeared in commercials. The critically acclaimed and commercially successful films Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017) were both nominated for the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film.

Largest Fan Collection I've Ever Seen!

More About Paddington Bear:

• Paddington Bear
• Paddington Bear Facebook page

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cuddle + kind hand knit dolls

A mermaid cuddle+kind doll named Pearl.

"Every cuddle+kind doll is lovingly handcrafted by artisans in Peru. Our heirloom-quality dolls are all ethically produced, providing our knitters with a fair trade wage so they can care for their families."

cuddle+kind soft body, knit dolls share 8 attributes:

1. Every doll is knit by hand by crafters from Peru. They use high-quality materials made from natural cotton fibers for the doll's body, stuffing and features.
2. These dolls meet the United States and Canadian safety standards.
3. The knit characters are very stylishly dressed and designed to please.
4. Each comes with a 10 meals wristband identifying the doll with it's four food charities: World Food Program USA, WE, Children's Hunger Fund, and Breakfast CLUB of Canada
5. Their dolls are soft and cuddly for little ones to hold onto and derive comfort from.
6. All materials used in the dolls are non-toxic and safety tested.
7. The embroidery and yarn wigs included on the dolls is added by hand.
8. Knit rag dolls by cuddle+kind are sure to be cherished and are made to last so that your doll might be loved by more than one generation.

About Pearl the mermaid doll, "I am very good at sharing secrets, swimming, and of course, exploring
the magical world at the bottom of the sea. I believe everything under the sky has endless potential,
just like you. I will always encourage you and remind you that you are as precious as an ocean pearl."

Left, Pearl has a long brown braid and a knit green bow attached to her head. Right, Pearl has a
polk-dot fish tail with puffy fins attached.

• Visit cuddle+kind at Facebook
• Download free coloring pages of cuddle+kind dolls for your child here
• Color in free printable greeting cards to send to someone special here
• See Cuddle+Kind doll Review by fortheLoveof3
• Girlyprettypink reviews cuddle and kind baby toys
• Cuddle+Kind dolls by One of A Dozen

  Return to the Doll Guide Index Page 

Gourds and Pumpkins and Their Uses

A pumpkin carved into a jack-o'-lantern
 for Halloween

       Children of our country often become acquainted with pumpkins and their relatives in the fall of the year‚ particularly during October and November. October brings Halloween, and since the pumpkin is a typical fruit of that time of the year it is used in all kinds of Halloween decorations. Many boys and girls think half the fun of Halloween is to have a real pumpkin in the window. Then comes Thanksgiving with its baked squashes and pumpkin pies, and gourds heaped high with autumn fruits.

       Early settlers on our eastern shores were surprised to see that the Indians raised rows of corn and beans with pumpkins and squashes between. The Indians believed that these three vegetables were guarded by three sister spirits, and that the plants would not grow well alone. The pumpkins and squashes were prepared for food by baking in ashes‚ shell, seeds and all; by splitting, cleaning and boiling in water; or by cutting them into thin strips to be dried for winter food. The Indians also boiled squash flowers with meat to add to the flavor.

       The word squash comes from an Algonquian word meaning eaten green, while the word pumpkin comes from an old Greek word meaning cooked by the sun. When the shell of a gourd, pumpkin or squash is made into a container it is sometimes called a calabash. This should not be confused with the true calabash which grows on a South American tree belonging to the Trumpet Flower family. The true calabash is in no way related to the pumpkin.

       Gourds are first cousins of the pumpkins. The Indians and early settlers raised them for rattles, water bottles, dippers, cups and other household utensils. Today we find many surprising and interesting uses for gourds. In China they serve as winter homes for pet crickets which are cherished either because they sing or because they are good fighters. Some of the cricket gourds are decorated, and all have elaborately carved bone, ivory, wood or jade covers. The designs on the covers may be of flowers, dragons, lions or other animals.

       In South America gourds, pumpkins and squashes were cultivated long before white men came to America. In very old Indian graves in Peru have been found vases shaped like squashes and pumpkins, and gourd containers holding peanuts. Gourds are still used in South America. Small ones are often used as containers for poison used in trying suspects of a crime. Guilt or innocence is determined by the effect of the poison on the suspect. The South American Indians who use the blow gun and poison darts keep the poison in small gourds attached to their quiver cases, while small oval gourds are highly decorated and used as cups for a popular South American drink called yerba mate‚ which really means, plant for the gourd.

       Gourds are frequently used in the making of musical instruments. This is especially true in Africa where the natives love music and rhythm. They have gourd drums, rattles of small gourds fastened around the waist of a dancer, stringed musical instruments made of gourds to which long handles are attached, musical bows with gourd resonators, and most important, the marimba. This instrument is really a xylophone with thin pieces of wood, often elaborately carved at the ends, suspended by cords over a series of gourds of different sizes. The gourds help to make the music louder. Some of the marimbas are so large it takes two men to play them.

       In certain parts of Africa water pipes are made of horn with small gourds for holding the tobacco; in other parts certain tribes cover their long necked gourds with beautiful bead work. Gourds are raised by most indigenous peoples. The shapes can be made to suit any use by binding with string or placing weights on the growing gourds. Thus, Romeo has bottle-shaped gourds for the Pipes of Pan; Melanesia, tiny gourds for lime, used in betel-nut chewing; and the Philippines, large gourds for storing rice and other cereals. These gourds may be plain, or the surfaces may be carved, burned with delicate strokes, painted or highly polished. Mexicans are noted for their brightly colored gourds.

       Though the children of foreign countries may not know the joys of jack-o‚-lanterns and pumpkin pies, they do know those very important relatives, the gourds. Whipple.

Pumpkins, Squash and Gourds

Learn more about pumpkins and squash and how to craft with these too!

• Talks about Gourds
• Carving Textures int Gourds
• Making a Sacred Peyote Rattle
• Pumpkin History & Nutrition
• Jack in the box paper toy with a free printable template
• A free jack-o-lantern paper printable with changing features
• Visit gourd doll making at YouTube

The Chimney Swift

The nest is made of small, short twigs
glued together with saliva.

       Whirling flocks of chimney swifts above the housetop form a familiar sight throughout eastern North America.

       The chimney swift rarely if ever comes to rest on the ground. Most of its waking hours are spent on the wing "sweeping" the air clear of insects. On late summer evenings flocks of swifts sail and circle in huge wheeling groups, possibly giving the young birds training or  exercise in preparation for the long flight to their winter home. At the end of one of these spectacular flights the entire group usually funnels into a chimney for the night. The rapidity and accuracy with which the birds disappear into the cavity are amazing. It has been estimated that they enter their roost at a rate of fifteen per second.

       Swifts build their nests of bits or twigs glued to the side of the chimney. The twigs are gathered while the bird is flying through the treetops. Most bird students agree that the swift grasps the tips of dead branches in its feet and breaks off a small piece. The twigs are glued together with the bird's saliva. The saliva hardens and fixes the twigs together securely.

       Both parents incubate the eggs. The young are nearly naked and are blind when hatched, but very soon the spines on the end of the tail appear and the young swift is able to leave the nest and crawl about hanging on to the rough surface of the chimney and propping itself up by the tail.

       Chimney swifts originally built their nests in hollow trees. The incoming settlers cut down the trees, but the swifts adapted themselves to man's ways and utilized the ever-increasing number of chimneys, although nests have also been found in barns and attics and on the sides of wells and cisterns.

       For years bird students have wondered about the winter home of the chimney swift. This common summer resident of the United States leaves the country every fall late in September and returns the middle of April. Its whereabouts during its absence has long been a mystery. Bird banders - bird students who attach small metal bands to the legs of captured birds with the hope that someone may return the band, if the bird is captured again or found dead - have especially hoped for information as to the migration routes and the winter home of the swift.

       Not until August, 1944, did we obtain a clue to the winter home of the swift. At that time a Tennessee bird student received from the Fish and Wildlife Service of the United States the returns on some of his banded birds. Five of his swifts had been captured in Peru. Thirteen birds from the United States had been taken 3,000 miles away, south of the equator. One of the birds had been banded in 1937 and had probably made seven round trips between Peru and Tennessee. Competent ornithologists had predicted that the swifts would be found wintering in the Amazon region, and these birds were recovered near the headwaters of that river. 

Joni Denker filmed the Chimney Swifs entering

 the roost at Washington Elementary in Janesville, WI.

Cloth From Inca Land

A tunic from the Inca Empire.

       When you were very little children, did you believe that all American Natives wore clothing made of deer and buffalo hide before the European settlers came? Many of them did wear skin garments; but there were others, in both North and South America who made their clothing from well woven cloth.
       Just left, you can see a picture of the beautiful cloth made by the Indigenous of ancient Peru. Those people were very fortunate in having at hand two of the most important cloth materials, cotton and wool.
       Cotton was raised by the people who lived along the coast, in fields watered by streams brought down, in irrigation ditches, from the mountains. Each person was allowed just enough water for a successful crop; and when the crop was gathered, it was placed along with those of the whole country, in one great storehouse. Later, one third of it was given to the Temple of the Sun, one third to the great Inca and the other third was divided evenly among all the people. Two kinds of cotton were raised; one, a bright golden brown, the other, white.
       Wool was obtained from the camel-like animals of the inland, the llama, alpaca and vicugna. Very coarse cloth, worn only by the common people, was made from llama wool. A finer cloth, worn by the nobles of the land, was made from alpaca wool. The finest cloth of all was made from vicugna wool; and all of it was reserved for the use of the great Incas. Llamas and alpacas were domestic animals, used for carrying burdens and for food as well as for their wool; and even when the Spanish entered Peru, they had been tame for so many centuries that no one knew their wild ancestor. The vicugna was, and still is, a wild animal. Once a year, the reigning Inca ordered a great vicugna hunt. Thousands of beaters started in an immense ring and drove the animals toward one central place. There they were captured in nets; were sheared of their wool; and turned loose. The wool was taken to the Temple of the Sun; given to the sacred weavers; spun by them into thread; and woven into royal garments.
       In spinning thread from either cotton or wool, the Peruvians used a small stick with a little round weight made of wood or clay attached to it. It was called a spindle; the little weight, a spindle whorl. By twirling the spindle, the cotton or wool fibers were twisted into yarn; and the yarn was then dyed with colors made from plants. The favorite dyes were red, yellow and brown; and they were so well made that the cloth dyed with them has not faded even to this day.  

       Some Peruvian cloth was used for covering the mummies of their ancestors. Perhaps some of the mummies were, themselves, once weavers; for in their graves were found spindles, spindle whorls, thread and even work baskets. Just as some North American people wanted to take their bows and arrows with them to their happy hunting grounds; so these natives wanted their implements, necklaces, ear-rings, bronze knives and pins, stone club heads, clothing, dishes, food, and many other things, to accompany them to the next world. Their graves were made in the desert; and, as in ancient Egypt, the dry sand has preserved everything which it covered.

• How Peruvian Weaving is Done
• Chinchero the Community of the Rainbow
• Awachiy Chinchero

Thanksgiving Doll Crafts

Far left, a mixed media pumpkin pie. Left center, Ma Ingall's warm new shawl, Center Right,
 a cornucopia full of a bountiful harvest. Far right, scrap fabric slices of pie.

         The first Thanksgiving in the North American colonies was instituted by William Bradford, the Governor of Plymouth, and first observed by the Puritans, who suffering from hunger and privation and who were truly thankful when the first harvest brought them the means of support for the approaching winter. 

       This holiday has come to us as "the religious and social festival that converts every family mansion into a family meeting-house." From far and near our family members come, filling the cars, planes and trains with merry chatter and anticipated pleasures of this popular holiday. How near and dear all the bright faces are as they gather around large tables for Thanksgiving feasts!

       Below are some amusements and crafts, as well as history surrounding this popular holiday that will add to the merriment of this holiday as you spend time relaxing in your home with your dolls.

• Visit our Thanksgiving Index at Thrifty Scissors
• Visit our Thanksgiving Coloring Pages at Crayon Palace
• Plan a Thanksgiving Day Party for Your Dolls and Friends - party invitations printable and many games

I'm happy on Thanksgiving.
I've eaten till I'm sore. But
I wish I was an elephant, then
I could hold lots more!

Make Simple Thanksgiving Crafts for Your Dolls: You can help grow our listing by making requests for particular Thanksgiving crafts in the comment box below:

1. Craft a Foam Pumpkin Pie - You can make a pumpkin pie out of any materials...even foam sheets!
2. Sculpt Paper Mache Pumpkins - These adorable faux pumpkins are handcrafted for our 18" dollhouse decor for Fall.
3. Papier-mâché Two Delicious Pretend Pies! - make pretend pies for any occasion for your child sized kitchen using paper pulp, newsprint, and paint.
4. Craft a Cornucopia for A Doll's Harvest - an old-fashioned way to display harvest bounty at your doll's kitchen table.
5. Scrap Fabric Pumpkin Pie - these pretend pies are made from silk and lace fabric scraps...
6. Craft a Pistachio Nut Wreath - simple and elegant, this nut shell wreath is the perfect size for an American Girl Doll room display.
7. Craft A Horno Oven for Josefina or Kaya - any historical doll will appreciate this outdoor oven made to look like real clay.
8. Oven Bake Clay Pumpkin Pie - make pumpkin pies the easy way with oven-bake clay this year; even the whipped cream topping is shaped by hand!
9. DIY a Gas Stove Top and Oven for Barbie's Family - Every little doll needs her own oven to bake for her friends and family; this one is simple to make using a recycled box and tin foil.
10. Ma Ingall's New Shawl - use a wooly scarf or woven wool scraps to cut and shape a shawl for your pioneer dolls.
11. Sew Four Reversible Pumpkin Placemats - placemats come in handy whenever you need to decorate a doll dinner display!
12. DIY Doll Sized Clay Crescent Rolls... - warm, comforting clay crescents for your doll's Thanksgiving meal.
13. Cut and Assemble The Puritan (Pilgrim) Twins Paper Dolls - paper dolls for a fun Thanksgiving craft!
14. Sculpt a Holiday Turkey Using Paper Pulp  - This version of our doll's main course, the turkey, is challenging to craft.
15. Autumn Printable Paintings for Your Dollhouse - change over the dollhouse decor for the cool weather this year... Lovely fall foliage to dress up the dollhouse walls.
16. Mail Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving Cards to Your Dolls - help your dolls keep in touch with their friends and family through the mail with these charming old greetings.
17. 6 Old-Fashioned Side Dishes for Dolly's Thanksgiving Feast! - Is your doll in need of a feast? We have plenty of ideas for the doll's festive buffet here.
18. 3 Comforting Casseroles for A Doll's Thanksgiving Dinner - DIY comfort food your any doll Thanksgiving meal...
19. Native American paper dolls to color - two paper dolls, one mother, one son, two changes of clothing, there is a small baby included in the mother's second outfit
20. Color Thanksgiving Favor Boxes for A Doll's Party - Make these for a special tea party during the fall and invite all of your doll friends.
    
21. Decorate the Dollhouse With Pumpkins, Mums and Toadstools - Hot glue easy Autumn displays to decorate the dollhouse...
22. Make a pumpkin with a web shaped vine 
23. Craft a Pow-wow drum and mallet - Your Native American Dolls can celebrate their own way for a feast of their making using Pow-wow drums...

The Pilgrims Searching for A New Land: History, Legend and Poems. Be Thankful for Pilgrims Searching and God's Protection . . .

• The Mayflower - Methinks, I see it now, that one solitary, adventurous vessel, the "Mayflower" of a forlorn hope, freighted with the prospects of a future state, and bound across the unknown sea...
• Song of The Pilgrims - a poem "THE breeze has swelled the whitening sail..."
• Historic Plymouth Monuments and Locations - photos of old and new, records from the past...
• Song of The Pilgrims - a hymn by T C. Upham "The breeze has swelled the whitening sail..."
  
• Ode by Rufus Dawes - "Sons of New England sires!"
  
• Forefather's Day - a hymn by M. W. Chapman "The memory of the faithful dead..." 
• The Child's Thanksgiving Song - by Gieselman and Tooke "For everything that's great and good..." and Widdy-Widdy-Wurky here.
• Thanksgiving Prayer by Mary Caroline Merrick - "Dear God, I thank you for each lovely tree..."
  

Be Thankful for Gifts From Native People:

1. Gifts From The Native Americans  - Plants that were cultivated by the Indians for thousands of years before the Europeans discovered the New World...
2. Cultivated Plants  - The indigenous people of the Chicago region and of the eastern woodlands were farmers, or at least they were during the summer months.
3. Wild Plants - The natives used a great many wild plants, of which wild rice was the most important.
4. Nuts and Berries - Nuts and berries were found in large quantities in the northern and eastern woodlands of the United States.
5. Beverages - Water was, of course, the most common Native American drink.
6. Maple Sugar - The eastern woodland natives used maple sugar in almost all of their foods.
7. Seasoning - One important plant used as a flavoring was a kind of wild onion that grew in great numbers many years ago in the rich moist soil of the areas around Chicago.
8. Bark and Bast - To make their houses as well as their canoes and a great many of their household articles these indigenous peoples who lived in the north, used the bark of the paper birch that grew along rivers and the shores of lakes.
9. Medicine - Many different plants and plant parts were used to make medicines.
10. Gourds and Pumpkins and Their Uses - Children of our country often become acquainted with pumpkins and their relatives in the fall of the year‚ particularly during October and November.
11. Nuts - How native Americans used nuts and preserved them.
12. The Weaving of Native Americans

Remember The Indigenous People:

• The Navajo Tribe - Like other Apacheans, the Navajos were semi-nomadic from the 16th through the 20th centuries. Their extended kinship groups had seasonal dwelling areas to accommodate livestock, agriculture, and gathering practices. As part of their traditional economy, Navajo groups may have formed trading or raiding parties, traveling relatively long distances.
• The Powhatan Tribe - The Powhatans have also been known as Virginia Algonquians, as the Powhatan language is an eastern-Algonquian language, also known as Virginia Algonquian. It is estimated that there were about 14,000–21,000 Powhatan people in eastern Virginia, when the English colonized Jamestown in 1607.
• The Blackfoot Tribe - Today, three Blackfoot First Nation band governments (the Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani Nations) reside in the Canadian province of Alberta, while the Blackfeet Nation is a federally recognized Native American tribe of Southern Piikani in Montana, United States. Additionally, the Gros Ventre are members of the federally recognized Fort Belknap Indian Community of the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana in the United States and the Tsuutʼina Nation is a First Nation band government in Alberta, Canada.
• The Nez Perce Tribe -  Indigenous people of the Plateau who are presumed to have lived on the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest a region for at least 11,500 years.
• The Indigenous People of Peru - Native Peruvians, comprise a large number of ethnic groups who inhabit territory in present-day Peru. Indigenous cultures developed here for thousands of years before the arrival of the Spanish in 1532.

Our Favorite Doll Fan Video from YouTube for Thanksgiving:

1. Thanksgiving Turkey for Dolls from OMaG
2. The Worst Thanksgiving - AGSM (mini movie)
3. DIY American Girl Doll Thanksgiving Food + Decor by SewCraftyAG
4. American Girl Doll Thanksgiving from americangirlashlyn
5. American Girl Doll Thanksgiving Room Set UP
6. DIY An American Girl Doll Thanksgiving
7. American Girl Doll Thanksgiving Food
8. No Food on Thanksgiving?
9. Thanksgiving Lunch
10. Thanksgiving Cooking from mixiepixie
11. What the Dolls Are Thankful For . . .

How People Celebrated Thanksgiving Long Ago...

1. Ezra's Thanksgivin' Out West - Ezra had written a letter to the home folks, and in it he had complained that never before had he spent such a weary, lonesome day as this Thanksgiving Day had been.
2. A Pioneer Thanksgiving  - The first ''Thanksgiving" of which I have any recollection was many years ago, "away down in Maine," in the old farmhouse that was located upon the banks of the St. Croix river at Calais, Washington county. (from O'Brien's Pioneer Memories)
3. Dress Like a Pilgrim - Contrary to popular belief, Pilgrims did not dress in all black. by GSMD (Mayflower descendants)
4. The Other National Bird - How the turkey was once considered to be the U.S. national bird...
5. Lincoln's Timeless Thanksgiving Proclamation from 1863 - from the National Archives
6. wigwam timelapse - Funding for the wigwam generously provided by the Vernon D. and Florence E. Roosa Family Foundation Memorial Fund of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, and by the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area.
7. Origin Of Thanksgiving Food - The surprising origins of Thanksgiving foods by PBS
8. The Wild Turkey, A Vanishing Game Bird - In the pioneer period of American life, wild turkeys roamed over wide areas from New England to Texas...
9. The Powhatan Natives - One of the most famous stories in our American history centers about a fun-loving Indian girl known as Pocahontas.

Harvest Here and Now: Recipes, Inspiration and Growing Things!

1. Harvesting Cranberries in Cape Cod
2. Thanksgiving Features Native American Foods
3. Three Sister Soup from Bertha Skye
4. How to Deep Fry a Turkey and Family Traditions from allofdestiny
5. Growing Ancient Grains In Your Garden
6. Making Fresh Pumpkin for Pies The Fast & Easy Way
7. How to Make Navajo Fry Bread
8. The Farmer Growing 400 Different Kinds of Potatoes
9. Native Grains - Lets make bread!
10. Sweet Team Cook Thanksgiving Dinner!
11. Soft & Fluffy Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
12. Why Leaves Change Color
13. Turkey Farm Prepares for Thanksgiving
14. How Native Americans Are Saving Vegetables from Extinction
15. How to Cook An Entire Thanksgiving Dinner: Step by Step Instructions
16. How To Make Pumpkin Cakes for Desert
17. Making The Ultimate Thanksgiving Holiday Feast with Rita

Poems About: Autumn, Thanksgiving, Fall Months:

1. The Night Before Thanksgiving - 'Twas the night before Thanksgiving...'
2. A Thanksgiving Dinner - 'Young Turkey Gobbler, with highly arched head...'
3. A Thanksgiving Acrostic - 'T is for turkey the biggest in town,'
4. Merry Autumn Days  - 'I Hail the merry autumn days...'
5. Five Kernels of Corn - 'Twas the year of the famine in Plymouth of old...'
6. September  - 'Again has come the sweet September...'
7. Thanksgiving On The Farm  - 'Oh, it surely seems years since the dear children's voices...'
8. Cat's Thanksgiving Day - 'Give me turkey for my dinner...'
9. The Feast-Time of the Year - 'This is the feast-time of the year...'
10. Miss Maple Tree's Party - 'Miss Maple Tree a party gave...'
11. Harvest Time by Clara R. Bete - 'Jack Frost is dressing up the trees...' 
12. My Apple Tree - 'I had a lovely apple..."
    
13. Indian Children - 'Where we walk to school each day...'
14. The Flower-Fed Buffaloes -'The flower-fed buffaloes of the spring...'
15. In The Indian Summer - 'The squirrels chattered in the leaves...'

Kids Talk About Thanksgiving:

1. Pilgrim Life with Scholastic News
2. The Wampanoag Way (for kids)
3. Kids Picking Cranberries the Old Fashioned Way
4. 100 Years of Thanksgiving
5. Thankful for Edmunds School

Poems About Giving in General:

• Giving by John Martin

Films for A Kid Friendly Thanksgiving:

The Indian in the Cupboard
 movie poster.

• Indian In The Cupboard: Trailer,  1995 American family fantasy drama film directed by Frank Oz and written by Melissa Mathison, based on the children's book of the same name by Lynne Reid Banks. The story is about a boy who receives a cupboard as a gift on his ninth birthday. He later discovers that putting toy figures in the cupboard, after locking and unlocking it, brings the toys to life. Read more...
• Pocahontas: Trailer, 1995 American animated musical romantic drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation for Walt Disney Pictures. Read more...
• Dances With Wolves for older teens: Trailer, 1990 American epic Western film starring, directed and produced by Kevin Costner. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 book of the same name by Michael Blake that tells the story of Union Army lieutenant John J. Dunbar (Costner) who travels to the American frontier to find a military post and of his dealings with a group of Lakota. Read more...

"Diving over haystacks!" silhouette.

Season Ambience Video:

• Pumpkin Farm and Falling Leaves
• Autumn Bossa Nova Cafe
• Sunny Autumn Morning in Tree Tops