236 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Floral Editifl 



that one seldom sees it. The holly that 

 is so much used at this season comes 

 from the United States. It is found in 

 dry and barren fields from Maine to 

 Florida. It differs from English holly in 

 many respects. It is less handsome; the 

 leaves are more oval and not so waved 

 and crinkled; the fruit is a dull, deep 

 scarlet, and usually solitary, while in the 

 English holly the berries are bright and 

 shiny, and occur in clusters. Mistletoe 

 likewise comes from the United States, 

 being found there from New Jersey to 

 Florida. From legends of the past, which 

 associated the mistletoe with Freya, the 

 goddess of love and beauty, arose the 

 custom continued to the present time, of 

 suspending sprigs of mistletoe in halls 

 and other rooms with the invitation and 

 the privilege that custom confers. So, 

 every home simply cannot do without at 

 least one sprig of mistletoe and a bunch 

 of holly. 



Snow and Berry EfFects 



All these decorative accessories are 

 briefly mentioned in this little considera- 

 tion of the Christmas tree because their 

 judicious use and arrangement will make 

 the ttee all the more enjoyed. And there 

 are still other things that one must 

 secure from the Stores for embellishment. 

 For producing snowy effects, one must 

 have cotton batting and diamond dust, 

 called also "winter snow" and "Christ- 

 mas snow." For red berry effects, bright 

 colored cranberries may be purchased, if 

 other kinds of berries are not available; 

 they are excellent for stringing. Popcorn 

 also sometimes is used for stringing. 

 Colored candles will be needed, and 

 tinsel tissue paper, colored glass balls 

 and ornaments of various kinds. 



Assuming that we have at least some 

 of the evergreens mentioned and a few of 

 the ornaments, let us return to the tree 

 and see what we can do with it. But 

 perhaps, for some reason or other, we 

 have not been able to secure a tree. In 

 that case, we will just have to make one. 

 A pole the desired height should first be 

 wrapped with dark brown crepe paper. 

 Then bind on this pole with wire or 

 green cord branches of the spruce or fir 

 that were brought from the woods, 

 placing and spacing them properly, with 

 the largest branches at the bottom and 

 the others graduated in size to the top. 

 At the tip of the pole a sprig can be 

 placed for suitable effect. In this manner 

 one may make a tree of exactly the shape 

 and dimensions required. 



Trees for Table Decorations 



Not only may one make a regular 

 Christmas tree but also a number of tiny 

 trees for table and other decoration, if 

 desired and if not otherwise available — 

 indeed, one should never gather tiny 

 real trees for the purpose, as that would 

 unnecessarily be robbing nature. The 

 very tiniest of home-made trees may be 

 produced by selecting tips of boughs that 

 look like trees and bindiJag them together 

 on central sprigs. 



Having a Christmas tree of some kind, 

 and a number of smaller ones, if desired, 

 one can begin to plan their decorations 

 and uses. Nearly every person has 

 helped to dress a Christmas tree at some 

 time in life, if not often, and no two 

 persons would do it just the same, which 

 is a good thing. It is an old custom that 

 seems ever new, and everyone finds 

 keener enjo)Tnent with each indulgence. 

 It would be out of place to give advice 

 on a procedure so personal and so pos- 

 sible of fancy. Some folks, however, 

 may find a few suggestions helpful. 

 Guard Against Open Candles 



Illuminations on a Christmas tree are 

 always dangerous and, as a rule, un- 

 necessary. Evergreens soon dry and 

 burn rapidly. Chinese lanterns and open 

 candles especially should be avoided. 

 Little electric lights, some clear and some 

 colored, are just as effective; or, where 

 such are not available, bright candles or 

 unlighted bright tapers may be used. 

 Some folks consider the tree bright 

 enough with only colored glass balls and 

 tinsel ornaments. Especially should a 

 tree never be illuminated with open 

 flames when cotton batten is used to 



represent snow. But in spite of this ad- 

 vice — which we said one should never 

 give — some folks will continue to illumin- 

 ate their trees in the dangerous manner 

 mentioned. When it is done, a space ! 

 should be roped around to prevent I 

 children getting too close to it. And the i 

 tree, which should be firmly placed in 

 any case, should be made particularly , 

 solid and steady when to be thus decor- 

 ated. 



Trimming the Tree 



For trimming the tree in general, one 

 may use tinsel, strings of red berries, and 

 ornaments of all kinds of shapes andi 

 sizes. Then will come the best fun of all 

 — the placing of the presents. Very 

 heavy articles should not be placed on 

 the tree, but arranged around its base. 

 Medium-heavy parcels should be thrusti 

 in among the branches, close to the 

 trunk. The lightest gifts should be left' 

 for the top of the tree and the ends of 

 the branches. Articles may be tied on 

 with a string, but a better plan is to 

 make a number of hoops with hooks oft 

 picture wire, so that the parcels may be I 

 suspended from these, and removed easily i 

 without cutting. 



Keeping Cut Flowers 



THE two chief reasons for the short 

 life of flowers are unsuitable re- 

 ceptacles and lack of clean cool 

 water. Whilst the shallow dishes so 

 often used for dinner table decoration 

 are in keeping with the occasion and 

 whilst many of the flowers used will 

 support themselves with 10 to 12 inches 

 of stem out of the water and only two 

 inches under water, it must not be ex- 

 pected that a long life will result for 

 the flowers used under these conditions. 

 Even when vases of proper depth and 

 width are adopted, it does not always 

 follow that the flowers get all the water 

 necessary. 



It should not be forgotten that when 

 any flower is cut from the growing plant, 

 it is taken away from its natural source 

 of life, and to be kept alive something 

 has to take the place of the parent plant. 

 The only medium is water applied in 

 quantity and with some little intelli- 

 gence. The stems of flowers act as a 

 syphon to convey the life giving and 

 life preserving water to the bloom. It 

 naturally follows that if blooms are 

 pressed into a receptacle that only just 

 holds them the water supply must be 

 small. Again, if the stems are cut off 

 squarely and they touch the bottom of 

 the vase the little tubes are closed and 

 the supply is cut off. 



There is no intention in this article to 

 deal with the proper arrangement of 

 flowers, excepting to suggest the best 

 kind of vessel to use. Briefly put, this 

 may be said to be the one that will 

 provide the deepest water, consistent 



with decorative values. A fairly good 

 rule to follow is to use a bowl or vase 

 from one-third to one-half of the total 

 height of the arrangement. Have water 

 clean and cold; cut all stems with a 

 sharp knife — not scissors — making all 

 cuts at an angle rather than squarely. 

 By this means water can easily find its 

 way into the stem if it touches the 

 bottom of the vase used. 



Flowers with woody stems such as ! 

 roses and chrysanthemums should have " 

 deeper vessels if possible, and care 

 should be taken to see that the wood at Jj 

 the bottom is not too hard for water to ijl 

 be absorbed. It is sometimes necessary 

 to shorten these stems on account of 

 this hard wood. Soft stemmed flowers 

 such as carnations, snapdragon, calen- 

 dula and bulbous flowers more readily 

 absorb water and on this account the 

 bowls used, need not be so deep. It 

 does not take long to change water 

 every day or at least every second day, 

 when all stems should be cut and fresh 

 clean water supplied. 



The hot dry atmosphere of many 

 homes makes the long keeping of 

 flowers a little difficult. This condition 

 might be balanced somewhat if at night 

 the blooms could be put in a cool part 

 of the house, where the temperature is 

 not much over 40° to 45°. The re- 

 cuperative value of this treatment is 

 marked. If on occasion it is necessary 

 for decorative purposes to use shallow 

 receptacles it is wise to stand the 

 flowers very deeply in water for at least- 

 24 hours previously. 



