556 



JODENAL OF HOBTIOULTURE AND COTTAGE QAEDENEB, 



[ December 23, 1876. 



again, the slightest difference between the Bcent of Abel 

 Grand and Beeeie Johnson ? I certainly cannot trace it, and 

 why ehonld Bessie Johnson take precedence of Abel Grand, 

 from which it is only a light-coioared sport 1 



Small Bibes im France.— I was called to task with regard 

 to my statement as to the absence of small birds in France. 

 There may be regulations as to the destruction of small birds 

 in Switzerland, but it certainly has not succeeded in increasing 

 the number across the border. Nor can I say much for bird 

 life in the woods alongside the Lake of Lucerne, as in the 

 three or four days I was in that neighbourhood I hardly saw 

 one, and with the exception of a few pert sparrows in the 

 Jardins de Tuileriee and Luxembourg I hardly saw a bird for 

 the five weeks I was abroad. An occasional magpie or half 

 a dozen rooks to be seen out of the railway carriage on one or 

 two rare occasions was all that we ever saw. Yes ; I must 

 make one exception. I found a nest of young nightingales at 

 BtUajio, and had the pleasure of seeing the old birds go and 

 feed them, while they occasionally rested from their labours to 

 give one of their eweet and thrilling songs.— C. P. Peach. 



THE DECORATION OF CHURCHES AND PUBLIC 

 ROOMS "WITH EVERGREENS. 



Amongsi the many duties of the gardener sometimes are 

 included the Christmas decoration of the church ; not but that 

 the clergyman and most likely a committee of ladies do most 

 of the designing and a great deal of, the execution' of the 

 work, still there is always Bomtthing requiring the aid of hands 

 more accustomed to rougher employment — a ladder to lift 

 and mount here and there, and the skill to put in position. 

 Letters, however carefully formed, look bad if not fixed with 

 due precision one to another, and the fixing is by no means 

 easy where possibly a mandate has gone forth that nails 

 must not be used. How many times this law is broken I will 

 not attempt to say, but may remark that it is not always an 

 easy task to fix anything very heavy when perched on the 

 top of a ladder, notwithstanding the multitude of advisers 

 below. However, those having the work in hand are usually 

 equal to the task, and the result is generally satisfactory. Not 

 but that there is considerable diversity in the mode by which 

 Buch works are done, and not a little emulation often exists 

 amongst the decorators who dress out the rival churches in a 

 town ; and now and then we should be inclined to think that 

 decoration, so called, is carried a step too far, and the effect 

 produced is the reverse to what ought to predominate in such 

 a place. There ought certainly to be some difference between 

 the decoration of a place of worship and that of a ball-room, 

 apart from the mottoes. 



I will try to show that a very good display may be made 

 with evergreens alone, and hope that by a liberal use of them 

 to satisfy the demands of those who look forward to the deco- 

 ration of their parish church as one of the pleasantest occu- 

 pations they engage in. 



Taking it for granted that whatever additional substances 

 are used for the embellishment evergreens form the principal, 

 to these we will more especially devote our attention. And 

 for church decoration long-established usage has given the 

 most prominent place to the Holly— in fact without Holly it 

 would be difficult to conceive it was really Christmas ; there- 

 fore in all places where it can be worked-in HoUy is used, and 

 with a little care its rather awkwardness to fit into the desired 

 place is overcome, and wreaths as well as lettering is performed 

 with Holly tolerably well ; and we have seen the toothed work 

 that very often surmounts the moulded screen bristling with 

 Holly, which by a little management was made to stand in 

 upright sprigs by being secured in their place by pieces of cork 

 acting as wedges in the recesses of the notched work, and no 

 mark nor damage done to anything by the operation. It is, 

 in fact, the knack of hitting on expedients to fit the decoration 

 in its place that is most needed in works of this kind, as we 

 expect the stringent order against nails to be duly regarded. 

 But adverting again to the Holly, we confess to a dislike to 

 see it mutilated to the extent it is often done, and would rather 

 Bco it oftener in its normal condition with its clusters of berries 

 surmounted by a few inches of stem having leaves on only. 

 That the latter partly hide the berries is perfectly true, but 

 they look more natural ; and in moat cases where both they 

 and the foliage are permitted at all let them appear as grown. 

 A very slight wreath of variegated Holly for some especial 

 purpose might be allowed to have a tuft of berries worked into 



it that had been denuded of ita foliage, but the more seldom 

 the better. A branch of Holly against a wall looks better than 

 when the same is worked into an artificial wreath or festoon, 

 for it is rather unmanageable ; and although its leaves may be 

 tacked on to a piece of lath, and designs as well as lettering 

 formed of it, and ita shining leaves richly ornamented with 

 prickles give it decided preference to everything else for this 

 work, it is less convenient to deal with when its foliage and 

 its berries are wanted to be worked into small wreaths, or for 

 small work of any kind where the leaves are not stripped off ; 

 and excepting at Christmas it seema not to enter so largely 

 into decorative purposes as other evergreens, and even then 

 churches would seem the places where it exercises its greatest 

 sway ; and probably no other evergreen will stand so long or 

 bear the heat and dust of a dwelling-room at Christmas time 

 so well as this highly popular evergreen, and certainly none 

 is so extensively used. 



I may be allowed to diverge a little by way of warning as to 

 its disposal, after doing the honours of Christmas. A few 

 years ago some sprigs of Holly that had done service over 

 the mantelpiece, Ac, of a farmhouse near here were thrown 

 into the fire one evening, and blazing up were carried up 

 the chimney and across a road, and landing on a thatched 

 roof set fire to it, and much damage was done, a high wind 

 blowing at the time fanned the fiames ; it would therefore be 

 advisable to be careful with the dried Holly leaves. Let us, 

 however, take a surve jand see what other plants furnish us 

 with the means of makingour public rooms, as well as churches, 

 ornamental at this season. 



Next to the Holly for church decoration a variety of ever- 

 greens are often met with worked-in more or less into the 

 design. Ivy, which as a national plant claiming equal im- 

 portance with the Holly, is largely used, as is also the Yew, a 

 tree equally sacred ; in fact, I much question whether any 

 three shrubs or trees of foreign extraction can equal these three 

 for appearance and effect in their different positiona ; but we 

 will treat with them now as being equally available for other 

 decorations aa well aa that of the church, the Ivy especially 

 being a favourite in every way, and wreaths or festoons formed 

 of it look, perhaps, better than anything else when it is so 

 placed that all sides are visible to the eye ; the under side of 

 the Ivy leaf being nearly as pretty as the upper aide, which is not 

 the case with many evergreens. We usually prefer the short 

 bushy twigs from old plants to make festoons, and if loaded with 

 berries so much the better. Our mode of making festoons of 

 this, as well as other kinds of evergreens, is to have a quantity 

 of twigs prepared, and a temporary table or bench formed ; they 

 are placed upon it, when the operator takes a piece of string, sel- 

 dom or never thicker than the blacklead which forms the writing 

 part of a pencil, and a loop being made at one end is fixed to a 

 nail Of hook at the end of the table, and with not more than 

 4 or 5 feet of string to work with. One or two twiga are taken 

 in the left hand, and a sort of a hitch knot ia made with the 

 string near the point of the twig, and one or two more twigs 

 being added near the base or butt-end of the twigs, a similar 

 hitch knot is made there with the same string, the operator 

 walking backwards as he proceeds, and having his right hand 

 to the table where hia supply of evergreens is. The process of 

 forming a great length of festooning available for hanging up 

 anywhere is a much quicker one than many suspect, although 

 aa will be Been by the above that each twig has two ties, one 

 at each end, and the whole being in fact what may be called 

 heads to taila. Of course some little care is necessary not to 

 confine any leaves with the string if possible, and a few inches 

 of the tip ends of each ahoot should extend beyond the tie, so 

 aa to look less fettered. 



I should not like to guess how many hundreds of yards of 

 festooning of this kind our men have at various times pre- 

 pared, but it would be a great many miles ; of course not of 

 Ivy alone, but of other evergreens as well — Laurustinua, Sweet 

 Bay, and Alaternua being all iiuicker and faster made up than 

 Ivy, and all looking well. 'While one of the neateat of all ia 

 Box, which ia capable of being made up much lighter than 

 most other sprays, unless it be Cypress or Yew ; but most ever- 

 greens are available for the purpose. The best, however, being 

 those having leaves not too large ; for that reason the Corsican 

 Laurel is not so good as many evergreens, and the Portugal 

 Laurel, though looking very well at first, is not the best to stand 

 many days. Neither ia the Laurustinua so good aa Box, but the 

 Phillyrea doee very well. Bat it is not always that a aelection 

 can be made, and now and then the result of a trial is not 

 eatiefaotory ; the Evergreen Oak being marred by the white on 



