23 FEBRUARY 1940, Page 14

COUNTRY LIFE

Indoor Spring

A little taste of spring, more real than the Roman hyacinth or forced bulb, may be had by putting sprays of hazel or other nut in water. Though the catkins are quite firm and tight when plucked, they will turn golden and show their pollen within two or three days, and a day or two later the crimson female flowers, unseen at first, will open widely. Over and above the beauty there is a sort of excitement in watching the quick process of expansion in the two strangely different sorts of flower.