152 



JOtiRlJAL Of HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



t February 12, 1874. 



wire frames, which I shall eiideavoar to describe, in hopes that 

 it may beuefit some oue similarly placed with myself. These 

 frames are very simple, easily and quickly made ; for I feel as 

 if I could make one quicker than describe how it is done. In 

 the first place, make a hoop of any sort of thin, stiffish wire 

 (I use small galvanised wire), about 4 or 5 inches in diameter. 

 This done, get three pieces of the same sort of wire about 

 8 inches long, and with the pliers twist each into the shape of 

 the accompanying figure. Make the length ,^ ^^ ^ 



from (7 to b equal to half the diameter of your 

 hoop. Now, by means of the Uttle hooks at 

 a, arrange the three pieces of wire at equal 

 distances round the hoop, and press the hooks 

 tight with the pliers, and it will be found that 

 the three legs c will all meet at the centre of 

 your hoop ; and by tying those together with a piece of fine 

 copper wire they form the handle of the frame. Before tying 

 these together I generally add a fourth wire to stand straight 

 up in the centre, about IJ or 2 inches above the level of the 

 hoop : this servos to keep the centre-piece of the bouquet in 

 its proper place. Next, get a piece of common galvanised 

 wire netting of a smallish mesh, and cut out a round piece of 

 the size of the hoop of the frame ; place it on the top of it, 

 and fix in any convenient manner on the hoop or the three 

 cross wires, keeping it slightly depressed in the centre, and the 

 frame is complete. 



Scarcity of flowers was not the first thing which made mo 

 think of this plan. The ladies for whom I am in the way of 

 making bouquets for balls, &o., complained of my making 

 them too " dumpy," and also too small. I coulj certainly 

 remedy the latter complaint ; but I found that the larger I 

 made them they became the more disgusting in shape. They 

 wanted them much flatter in shape than I could make them ; 

 and the flowers that I wasted in trs'ing to accomplish that end 

 were more than I liked to own. I made one of those frames, 

 and to my great delight I found that I did not require more 

 than half the flowers, and could at the same time make them 

 large enough for anyone's taste, however extravagant, and as 

 flat as a table, with as many modifications between that and a 

 pyramid as fancy might choose. 



And now, before going into the arrangement of the bouquet, 

 a few words about the preparation of the materials. We will 

 take the Camellia in the first place, as being the most promi- 

 nent object at this season. I never out a leaf or a leaf-bud 

 with Camellias for hand-bouqnets, knowing that those most 

 forward buds are the most likely ones to produce a crop of 

 flower buds next year ; and on this principle I am always most 

 willing to cut Camellias, because, instead of injuring the plants, 

 which is the case if a couple of leaves are taken with the flower, 

 the removal of the flowers soon after expanding concentrates 

 the strength of the plant into those buds which produce next 

 year's crop. For bouquets or the hair proceed as follows with 

 Camellias : Take the bloom between the forefinger and thumb 

 of the left hand, and with the other thrust a piece of copper 

 or brass wire through the base of the flower, bending the two 

 ends down to meet and be twisted together so as to form a 

 stalk. If the flower is quite fresh this will be suflicient ; but 

 if the flower is old, and likely to fall to pieces if roughly shaken, 

 put auother wire through the flower crosswise to the other one, 

 twisting all the wires together. If for the hair, a nice fresh 

 leaf may be placed on one or other of the wires, to lie between 

 the hair and the bloom. If for a bouquet, two leaves may be 

 wired separately, and arranged at pleasure when making-up. 

 Half-open buds may be wired in the same way, placing a leaf 

 on the wire at the same time. Many other flowers require 

 wiring as well as Camellias. If their stalks will admit of it, 

 thrust a very small wh-e through them some distance above the 

 base, and twist the ends round the stem to make the flower 

 stand upright. If the stalks are too slender for this, the only 

 way to do is to tie them to a small piece with very thin copper 

 wire. 



And now to the arrangement. Having the frame made, 

 the flowers gathered, and those wired that require it, place 

 the frame with the handle through the hole of an inverted 

 flower pot, which is the most ready means of getting your 

 hands at liberty in the course of making-up. Now get a hand- 

 ful of Selaginella denticulata, or dried dyed moss of the shops 

 if none of this useful Selaginella is to be had ; place this on 

 the top of the frame, as nearly as possible in the position it 

 has grown, keeping it higher and denser in the centre, or as 

 near the shape of your intended bouquet aa possible, leaving 

 the loose ends hanging carelessly over the hoop. Take, say, a 



white or red Camellia for a centre, and passing the wire down 

 through the moss, tie it firmly to the wire sticking up in the 

 centre, and then pull it gently down to the desired height, 

 its outer petals resting on the green moss. 



Next, proceed with the arrangement of flowers of a formal 

 character, with due regard to colours, placing each flower or 

 truss so as to stand out clear of its neighbours. The outside 

 row should be placed so that one-half of the flowers extend 

 over the hoop ; but should not be so exact as if a compass had 

 been used. The groundwork, as it were, having thus been 

 formed, we next proceed to fill-up with flowers of a more 

 graceful character, such as Justicia coccinea and J. speciosa, 

 in single lateral spikes, single twigs of Deutzia gracilis, or 

 Spirica japonica, Rose buds. Snowdrops, Cyclamens, little twigs 

 of Heaths and Epacris, or anything that is small and twiggy, 

 to stand-up above the great body of colour, to give the whole a 

 less formal appearance. These are placed in the widest spaces 

 left between the other flowers, and all the lesser !spaces are 

 fiUed-up with small fronds of Ferns — Adiantum assimile being 

 one of the most useful for this purpose. The bottom pinnn3 

 of Ferns used should be stripped off, for the purpose of getting 

 them down through the moss. Having all thus filled-up, 

 gather all the stems together, and tie them to the stem in the 

 usual way, and then add a border of Adiantum cuneatum or 

 A. formosum, and the bouquet is complete. 



I venture to say that young ladies will find a bouquet made 

 after this fashion will stand a good deal of " knocking about '' 

 on a ball-night without getting out of shape. The saving of 

 time and material is something wonderful ; so that the frame 

 system has many advantages. I intended this paper to ex- 

 tend to table decorations as well ; but I think it is unnecessary, 

 as anyone who is scarce of flowers, with ordinary ingenuity 

 will be able to apply these remarks to other purposes than 

 hand-bouquet makiiig. — E. Inglis (in The Gardener). 



Gardenees' Royal Benevolent Institutwn. — Dr. Hogg has 

 been elected a Vice-President of this Institution in the place of 

 the late Charles Lawson, Esq. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST AND PBESENT WEEKS. 



KITCHEN GABDEN. 



We have recently alluded to the remarkably fine weather for 

 forwarding out-door operations ; the wind has been veering 

 round from east to north, and frost has set in, accompanied by 

 fog, so that working out of doors amongst bushes and trees is 

 very uupleasaut. Before the ground became too hard some 

 rough manure was spread over it, so that should the frost con- 

 tinue we shall be enabled to finish the trenching. 



We had commenced to plant-out the Sea-kale, but the frost 

 prevented our continuing the work. Our plan with this vege- 

 table is to sow a few rows annually, and also to plant-out the 

 best of the roots that have been used for forcing, and all the 

 small roots that are not strong enough to be taken to the forcing 

 house. The ground in which the Sea-kale is planted is trenched 

 and moderately rich, and at the time of planting some coal ashes 

 are placed round the roots. 



We alluded last week to the early Potatoes, and it may not be 

 out of place to draw attention to the general crop, as many of 

 our readers may be desirous of purchasing sets. The experience 

 obtained here in regard to the American sorts would lead us to 

 the conclusion that they are not worth growing. American 

 Rose does not throw much haulm, but it gave us only the most 

 miserable apology for a crop, and the less said about the quality 

 the better. Boston Red yielded enormously, but the Potatoes 

 were of every conceivable shape ; the produce had au earthy 

 flavour and a waxy texture. Of Springfield White we had three 

 years ago two or three small Potatoes that were cut-up into 

 about a dozen sets, which produced about one hundredweight 

 and a half of the most ugly specimens ever seen, and quite 

 uneatable. Indeed, after several trials conclusive evidence was 

 afforded that our soil was not suitable for the varieties intro- 

 duced from America. There are some new sorts from that con- 

 tinent being introduced this year to the public. Most of them 

 we have seen growing, and tasted after being cooked ; they were 

 well-shaped, of a good and distinct flavour from our English 

 varieties, and the produce uniform in size. They have been 

 accurately described by Mr. Barron in the " Proceedings of the 

 Boyal Horticultural Society." 



The Potatoes that can be recommended for a general crop, and 

 which should, if possible, be grown in the field, are Dalmahoy, 

 one of the earliest and best of the Regent class, and Walker's 

 Regent, which succeeds this and is rather more productive. 

 For the latest crop Sutton's Bed-skinned Flourball is as good 

 as any, and its freedom from disease is an important point in 

 its favour. This variety was obtained from Messrs. Satton, of 



