THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 

 HINTS OjS" DINNER-TABLE DECOEATION. 



BY MISS A. HASSAED, 

 St. Eonan's, Upper Norwood. 



HE subject of Dinner-Tuble Decoralion is oue wliicU has 

 been treated by many writers, but is always interesting. 

 Tlieretbre it is I am again induced to say a few words 

 upon it, trusting they will prove useful to the readers 

 of the Eloral Would. 

 According to the length and width of your table, the size and 

 number of your stands and pot-plants must be regulated, sol cannot 

 well give any advice on this subject. Let us, therefore, turu to the 

 forms of the stands. These are numerous, but out of all I have seen 

 there are only four I can say I admire ; for they do not intercept 

 the view, are easy to fit up, and not expensive to purchase. They 

 are as follows: the true Marchian ; the Marchian with trumpet 

 out of top tazza ; a high, slender trumpet, with three curved 

 trumpets branching from it ; and a large tazza with single trumpei; 

 rising out of the ceutre. These shapes, when fitted up lightly, look 

 very eft'tective. I speak from experience, as I have them in constant 

 use. It is quite a mistake having flower-stauds or vases engraved. 

 If it is on the flat part of the dish, It will be covered with sand ; 

 and if the trumpet, the sterna of the flowers will quite do away with 

 the eftect. Care should be taken when purchasing to see that the 

 glass is brigbt and clear, and free from all spots or flaws. When 

 going to arrange a stand, see that the glass is well polislied, for half 

 the eftect depends on the brightness and glitter of the crystal, which 

 sets ofi" flowers to better advantage than any other material. To 

 keep glass bright, it sliould be washed with nothing but cold water. 

 Having said so much for the shape of the vases, I shall now turn 

 to the materials for keeping the flowers fresh. Some use sand, 

 others moss, and some water. I myself prefer for the dishes or 

 tazzas sand, as it keeps the flowers quite as fresh as the moss, and 

 they stand firmer in it. The trumpets, of course, I always fill with 

 water. In arranging Marchian stands, many mix fruit and flowers 

 in the lower tazza, but this is a plan I do not approve of: I like to 

 see the fruit in separate stands or baskets, as when mixed with 

 flowers in the centre-piece, if ttie fruit be helped from it, the whole 

 efiect is quite spoiled. Single flowers or button-hole bouquets, in 

 specimen-glasses, opposite to each person, look very effective ; but 

 these tiny bouquets should be of very choice flowers. Pot-plants 

 have also a good efiect on a table, but I prefer ferns or foliage to 

 flowering varieties when in conjunction with stands. Suppose there 

 were three Marchian stands on a table : between the centre one and 

 the two ends I should place a nice-grown specimen of Maiden-hair. 

 If only a centre-piece was employed, say that wdth the curved 

 trumpets above mentioned, I should place top and bottom a pair of 

 nice crotons or palms. Good specimens of flowering plauts look 

 very handsome on the sideboard, but if used along with stands of 



