THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 209 



then I should pull these to equal lengths and then bend them back 

 all together till they form a wire stem to the pip ; the next thing^ 

 will be to take one of the four ends so bent back, and twist it round 

 the others, and a firm artificial stem is formed. Operate in this way 

 with as many pips as may be required, then take the spikes of isias 

 and round each of these twist a piece of piercing wire. The reason 

 for doing this is that the stems of the ixia are hard and brittle, and 

 are therefore difiicult to bend into any shape or position that may 

 be required, but when d one with binding wire, as I have described, 

 this difiiculty is quite overcome. The eucharis bloom will not re- 

 quire to be prepared in any way. Having finished all, so far as re- 

 gards wiring, the next move is to endeavour to keep them as fresh 

 as possible, and it is for this purpose the moss and cotton wool are 

 required. Dip the cotton in cold water, and then press the water 

 from it, leaving enough to make it feel wet in the hand, and re- 

 taining moisture enough to keep the flowers fresh during the evening. 

 Next take a very small portion of the cotton, and bind it close round 

 the bottom of each pip of stephanotis with the reel wire. Being 

 white, the cotton will not show up against the colour of the ste- 

 phanotis. Next take the stub wire, and to the end bind on with the 

 reel wire a frond of maidenhair, binding in a little damp moss all 

 along the stem, then take an unopened pip of stephanotis and lay it 

 on the fern, and bind it on to the stub, and so work along down the 

 wire, adjusting the flowers and foliage according to taste. When the 

 spray has been made of the length desired, a spray of fern should be so 

 adjusted as to conceal the finishing off". The stems of the flowers 

 should be next cut off", but not shorter than two inches as these when 

 the spray is about to be placed in the hair can be inserted in a little 

 flower tube filled with water, such as are used for coat flowers, the 

 hook having been broken ofi". This may be easily concealed amongst 

 the braids of the hair, and will tend to keep the spray fresh during 

 the evening. 



Should it so happen that the arrangement be required to keep 

 fresh for some time previous to being worn, such as taking it a 

 long journey, and that it must be made on the morning of the 

 day required, the best way to preserve its freshness would be to 

 place it in a small biscuit tin, in the bottom of which is a mat 

 formed of wet moss, on this lay the spray, then take some water 

 and well sprinkle it with it, and put on the lid which should be as 

 air-tight as possible. In this manner it will keep tVesh for two 

 days, but care must be taken not to overturn the box, or the wet 

 moss would spoil the flowers. 



Some people, after they have made their floral arrangements on 

 the moss and damped the flowers, lay a sheet of cotton wool over 

 the face of the spray or bouquet, but I myself do not approve of 

 this plan, as there is a gum on one side of the cotton wool which if 

 it becomes damp and touches the flowers anywhere, sticks amongst 

 them, and imposes on one a great deal of trouble in picking the 

 flowers over. If flowers are only to be seat a short distance, there 

 is no better mode of packing than in cotton wool, but where flowers 

 require to be damped, it should be avoided, except wiiere flowers 



Ju'j-. 1'' 



