298 



WINDOW GARDENINn. 



for short stemmed flowers, a mixture of damp sand and powdered charcoal 

 in equal |)ropoitioiis, answers very well; but care must be taken that the dish 

 does not get too dry ; so also do baskets of creeping moss, in which they may be 

 placed with fine effect ; still the moss gets dry so soon that the flowers fare bet- 

 ter if a saucer is hidden below, partly filled with water, which they can reach 

 with the tips of their stems. 



Fig. 48. Dish of Flowers and Ferns for the Table. 



The prettiest and best arrangement for keeping cut flowers in beauty is a dish 

 of velvet moss saturated with rain water. When this moss is brought from the 

 woods, if a few fronds of fern, especially those of the delicate Maiden Hair, are 



FiR. 49. OinaiiiPiital Silver and (iold Stand for Fruit or Flowers. 



taken with it, and suffered to form a part of the foliage of the group, you will 

 find them a charming addition. Place the flower stems sparsely among the moss, 

 and here and there a branchlet of green or a leaf. Just inside the edge of the 

 dish pour a very little water twice a week ; and when any of the collection show 

 signs of decay, remove them, and fill their places with fresh specimens; thus the 

 dish may be kept filled with bloom and beauty for months. 



