The Decorative Use of Flowers 



1615 



stem and leaf and growth are seen than when these have been obHterated 

 by a mere mass of color. Table decoration should be low so that conver- 

 sation may be general, 

 and so that persons 

 sitting opposite each 

 other need not play 

 hide and seek. Flowers 

 with a very delicate 

 odor, or with no odor 

 at all, should be se- 

 lected for the table. 



If the table were the 

 size of King Arthur's 

 round table or of the 

 large central table in a 

 great banqueting hall, 

 treelike masses with 

 slender vases to sup- 

 port the stems, or, 

 better still, baskets 

 hanging above the 

 height of heads, would 

 be good, though the 

 room as a whole rather 

 than the table would 

 be affected by such an 

 arrangement. How- 

 ever, decoration for 

 the home table and 

 for village fetes is the 

 chief concern in this 

 lesson. Garlands of 

 flowers or vines wan- 

 dering in and out 

 among the dishes, or 

 any forms of deco- 

 ration that interfere 

 with service, are out 

 of place. 



There may be either 

 a central arrangement 



(Fig. 18) or something pjQ_ ^^^^xhe plain or soft-toned papers in neutral colorings 

 at each plate, or, for a make the best backgrounds 



