182 THE GARDENER. [April 



then they can be placed in heat for a short time, so much the better. 

 The leaves I consider to be essential to success, for the Iresine has 

 a natural liking to leaf-soil, and will thrive better in pure half-rotten 

 leaves than in any other soil whatever. If time can be spared at the 

 season of planting, it will amply repay to dig up the ground the Iresine 

 is intended to occupy, for the purpose of incorporating a liberal allow- 

 ance of leaf-soil, for by giving it the food it seems to enjoy, the in- 

 fluence of the atmosphere in regard to its colouring may be partly 

 overcome. At least, let no one despair, because it is too good a plant 

 to be rashly cast aside as useless for outdoor decoration ; and I trust 

 that, in making these few remarks, they may prove to be of service to 

 those who may not have been quite so successful with it. R. S. 



TABLE DECORATIONS. 



In treating of the above subject, my object is not so much to treat on 

 the arrangement of what are known as the Marchian stands, as used 

 for the dinner and exhibition tables, but simply to state what I have 

 done in this way for myself, guided solely by my own notions of taste, 

 and the materials I had at hand for use. 



Last season, the stands we used for the decoration of the dinner- 

 table here were in constant use for something like eight months, and 

 to keep these trim and nice is not only a heavy tax on one's time, but 

 also on one's resources ; however, having given entire satisfaction, I 

 consider I was amply repaid for my trouble. As the provision for 

 table decorations is becoming more and more a task allotted to the 

 gardener in an establishment, I venture to detail what I have done, 

 and the agents I have used, for the sake of those who may have a simi- 

 lar work set them, and would be glad to receive some suggestions in 

 regard to the matter. 



I will first observe that Ferns and Mosses are among the most use- 

 ful things for the decoration of the table, and even such a common 

 thing as the Male Fern (Lastrea Filix-mas), which may be found in the 

 hedgerows in almost every parish, is of great value for forming a 

 fringe to the dish of a stand or centre piece. Equally valuable is the 

 native Welsh Polypody (Polypodium vulgare Cambricum), which 

 makes a nice change with the Male Fern, the handsome fimbriated 

 edging to the fronds adding to its worth. It is by no means so com- 

 mon as the Male Fern. That charming greenhouse Moss, Selaginella 

 denticulata, is another useful thing for the purpose. I use plants 

 taken out of small pots to fill the base of a stand, and fill up between 



